#malefitspo: Links between viewing fitspiration posts, muscular-ideal internalisation, appearance comparisons, body satisfaction, and exercise motivation in men
Abstract
Exposure to fitspiration content via social media can influence women’s body satisfaction and exercise inspiration, but fitspiration exposure has not been investigated in men. This study examined links between the frequency of viewing fitspiration content on Instagram, and men’s body satisfaction, appearance-based exercise motivation and health-based exercise motivation, and whether those relationships were mediated by muscular-ideal internalisation and/or appearance comparison tendency. Participants were 17- to 27-year-old Australian men who used Instagram ( N = 118). Frequency of viewing fitspiration content was not directly associated with body satisfaction or reasons for exercise. However, significant indirect pathways were observed through greater muscular-ideal internalisation and appearance comparison tendency. Viewing more fitspiration content was associated with greater muscular-ideal internalisation and higher appearance comparison tendency, which in turn was associated with less body satisfaction, more appearance-based exercise motivation and less health-based exercise motivation. Fitspiration appears to be more closely related to appearance than health in men.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Recent work has highlighted the need to further understand the pervasiveness of presentations of male lean and muscular appearance ideals on social media, and potential effects on internalization of the muscular ideal, appearance anxiety, and body dissatisfaction.
“Recent work has highlighted the need to further understand the pervasiveness of presentations of male lean and muscular appearance ideals on SM (Gültzow et al., 2020), and potential effects on internalization of the muscular ideal, appearance anxiety, and body dissatisfaction (Fatt et al., 2019; Seekis et al., 2021).”
From The Perfect Storm: A Developmental-Sociocultural Framework for the Role of Social Media in Adolescent Girls' Body Image Concerns and Mental Health. (2022) · cites this paper as Fatt et al., 2019
Cites
(2013) · Cited by 44,563 · see citing works
Beyond Baron and Kenny: Statistical Mediation Analysis in the New Millennium
Hayes, A. F. (2009) · Communication Monographs · doi:10.1080/03637750903310360 · Cited by 9,757 · see citing works
Exacting beauty: Theory, assessment, and treatment of body image disturbance.
Thompson, J. K., Heinberg, L. J., Altabe, M., & Tantleff-Dunn, S. (1999) · doi:10.1037/10312-000 · Cited by 3,100 · see citing works
Grabe, S., Ward, L. M., & Hyde, J. S. (2008) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.134.3.460 · Cited by 2,053 · see citing works
Groesz, L. M., Levine, M. P., & Murnen, S. K. (2002) · International Journal of Eating Disorders · doi:10.1002/eat.10005 · Cited by 1,772 · see citing works
Role of body dissatisfaction in the onset and maintenance of eating pathology
Stice, E. M., & Shaw, H. E. (2002) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/s0022-3999(02)00488-9 · Cited by 1,481 · see citing works
Holland, G., & Tiggemann, M. (2016) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2016.02.008 · Cited by 1,395 · see citing works
Body-Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults
Mendelson, B. K., Mendelson, M. J., & White, D. R. (2001) · Journal of Personality Assessment · doi:10.1207/s15327752jpa7601_6 · Cited by 1,009 · see citing works
Development and validation of the sociocultural attitudes towards appearance questionnaire
Heinberg, L. J., Thompson, J. K., & Stormer, S. M. (1995) · International Journal of Eating Disorders · doi:10.1002/1098-108x(199501)17:1 · Cited by 946 · see citing works
Keery, H., van den Berg, P., & Thompson, J. K. (2004) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2004.03.001 · Cited by 815 · see citing works
Social Media and Body Image Concerns: Current Research and Future Directions
Fardouly, J., & Vartanian, L. R. (2016) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.09.005 · Cited by 801 · see citing works
Self-citationAdverse Effects of the Media Portrayed Thin-Ideal on Women and Linkages to Bulimic Symptomatology
Stice, E. M., & Shaw, H. E. (1994) · Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1521/jscp.1994.13.3.288 · Cited by 754 · see citing works
“Exercise to be fit, not skinny,”: the effect of fitspiration imagery on women's body image
Tiggemann, M., & Zaccardo, M. (2015) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2015.06.003 · Cited by 737 · see citing works
Social comparison as a predictor of body dissatisfaction: A meta-analytic review.
Myers, T. A., & Crowther, J. H. (2009) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0016763 · Cited by 730 · see citing works
Dietary Restraint, Body Dissatisfaction, and Psychological Distress: A Prospective Analysis.
Johnson, F., & Wardle, J. (2005) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-843x.114.1.119 · Cited by 638 · see citing works
Stice, E. M., Hayward, C., Cameron, R. P., Killen, J. D., & Taylor, C. B. (2000) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-843x.109.3.438 · Cited by 632 · see citing works
‘Strong is the new skinny’: A content analysis of #fitspiration images on Instagram
Tiggemann, M., & Zaccardo, M. (2018) · Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.1177/1359105316639436 · Cited by 594 · see citing works
The Tripartite Influence model of body image and eating disturbance
van den Berg, P., Thompson, J. K., Obremski, K. M., & Coovert, M. D. (2002) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/s0022-3999(02)00499-3 · Cited by 577 · see citing works
Body Image among Adolescent Girls and Boys: A Longitudinal Study
Carlson Jones, D. (2004) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037/0012-1649.40.5.823 · Cited by 537 · see citing works
The influence of sociocultural factors on body image: A meta-analysis.
Cafri, G., Yamamiya, Y., Brannick, M. Τ., & Thompson, J. K. (2005) · Clinical Psychology Science and Practice · doi:10.1093/clipsy.bpi053 · Cited by 438 · see citing works
Meta-Analyses of the Effects of Media Images on Men's Body-image Concerns
Barlett, C. P., Vowels, C. L., & Saucier, D. (2008) · Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1521/jscp.2008.27.3.279 · Cited by 435 · see citing works
Markland, D., & Ingledew, D. K. (1997) · British Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.2044-8287.1997.tb00549.x · Cited by 431 · see citing works
Fardouly, J., Willburger, B. K., & Vartanian, L. R. (2018) · New Media & Society · doi:10.1177/1461444817694499 · Cited by 421 · see citing works
Self-citationTylka, T. L. (2011) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2011.04.008 · Cited by 411 · see citing works
van den Berg, P. A., Mond, J., Eisenberg, M. E., Ackard, D. M., & Neumark‐Sztainer, D. (2010) · Journal of Adolescent Health · doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2010.02.004 · Cited by 391 · see citing works
Schaefer, L. M., Harriger, J. A., Heinberg, L. J., Soderberg, T., & Thompson, J. K. (2016) · International Journal of Eating Disorders · doi:10.1002/eat.22590 · Cited by 384 · see citing works
The role of motives in exercise participation
Ingledew, D. K., & Markland, D. (2008) · Psychology & Health · doi:10.1080/08870440701405704 · Cited by 375 · see citing works
Desiring the muscular ideal: Men's body satisfaction in the United States, Ukraine, and Ghana.
Frederick, D. A., Buchanan, G. M., Sadehgi-Azar, L., Peplau, L. A., Haselton, M. G., Berezovskaya, A., & Lipinski, R. E. (2007) · Psychology of Men & Masculinity · doi:10.1037/1524-9220.8.2.103 · Cited by 367 · see citing works
Rodgers, R. F., McLean, S. A., & Paxton, S. J. (2015) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037/dev0000013 · Cited by 360 · see citing works
Alleva, J. M., Martijn, C., van Breukelen, G., Jansen, A. T. M., & Karos, K. (2015) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2015.07.001 · Cited by 356 · see citing works
Holland, G., & Tiggemann, M. (2016) · International Journal of Eating Disorders · doi:10.1002/eat.22559 · Cited by 308 · see citing works
Prichard, I. J., & Tiggemann, M. (2007) · Psychology of sport and exercise · doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2007.10.005 · Cited by 305 · see citing works
Male physical attractiveness in Britain and Malaysia: A cross-cultural study
Swami, V., & Tovée, M. J. (2005) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2005.08.001 · Cited by 295 · see citing works
“Fitspiration” on social media: a content analysis of gendered images
Carrotte, E. R., Prichard, I., & Lim, M. S. C. (2017) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/jmir.6368 · Cited by 278 · see citing works
Gillison, F., Standage, M., & Skevington, S. M. (2006) · Health Education Research · doi:10.1093/her/cyl139 · Cited by 275 · see citing works
Homan, K. J., & Tylka, T. L. (2014) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2014.01.003 · Cited by 273 · see citing works
Knauss, C., Paxton, S. J., & Alsaker, F. D. (2007) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2007.06.007 · Cited by 271 · see citing works
The changing demographic profile of eating disorder behaviors in the community
Mitchison, D., Hay, P., Slewa‐Younan, S., & Mond, J. (2014) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-943 · Cited by 270 · see citing works
Robinson, L., Prichard, I., Nikolaidis, A., Drummond, C., Drummond, M., & Tiggemann, M. (2017) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2017.06.001 · Cited by 253 · see citing works
A content analytic comparison of fitspiration and thinspiration websites
Boepple, L., & Thompson, J. K. (2016) · International Journal of Eating Disorders · doi:10.1002/eat.22403 · Cited by 252 · see citing works
Slater, A., Varsani, N., & Diedrichs, P. C. (2017) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2017.06.004 · Cited by 247 · see citing works
The development and validation of the Physical Appearance Comparison Scale-Revised (PACS-R)
Schaefer, L. M., & Thompson, J. K. (2014) · Eating Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2014.01.001 · Cited by 233 · see citing works
Strong is the new skinny: A content analysis of fitspiration websites
Boepple, L., Ata, R. N., Rum, R., & Thompson, J. K. (2016) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2016.03.001 · Cited by 220 · see citing works
Body Image and Attitudes Toward Male Roles in Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Users
Kanayama, G., Barry, S. I., Hudson, J. I., & Pope, H. G. (2006) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.163.4.697 · Cited by 199 · see citing works
Hargreaves, D. A., & Tiggemann, M. (2009) · Psychology of Men & Masculinity · doi:10.1037/a0014691 · Cited by 185 · see citing works
Prichard, I. J., McLachlan, A. C., Lavis, T., & Tiggemann, M. (2017) · Sex Roles · doi:10.1007/s11199-017-0830-3 · Cited by 175 · see citing works
Hargreaves, D. A., & Tiggemann, M. (2003) · Journal of Youth and Adolescence · doi:10.1023/a:1024974015581 · Cited by 170 · see citing works
Reasons for Exercise and Body Esteem: Men's Responses to Self-Objectification
Strelan, P., & Hargreaves, D. A. (2005) · Sex Roles · doi:10.1007/s11199-005-7137-5 · Cited by 161 · see citing works
Skinny Is Not Enough: A Content Analysis of Fitspiration on Pinterest
Simpson, C. C., & Mazzeo, S. E. (2016) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2016.1140273 · Cited by 157 · see citing works
Ricciardelli, L. A., & McCabe, M. P. (2001) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(00)00097-8 · Cited by 152 · see citing works
Karazsia, B. T., & Crowther, J. H. (2009) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2008.12.003 · Cited by 140 · see citing works
Does Body Image Affect Quality of Life?: A Population Based Study
Nayır, T., Uşkun, E., YÜREKLİ, M. V., Devran, H., Çelik, A., & Okyay, R. A. (2016) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0163290 · Cited by 104 · see citing works
Eating disorders in men: a review of the literature
Jones, W. R., & Morgan, J. F. (2010) · Journal of Public Mental Health · doi:10.5042/jpmh.2010.0326 · Cited by 100 · see citing works
DiBartolo, P. M., Lin, L., Montoya, S. P., Neal, H., & Shaffer, C. (2007) · Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology · doi:10.1123/jcsp.1.2.93 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
The effect of aesthetic versus process images on men’s body satisfaction.
Mulgrew, K. E., Johnson, L., Lane, B. R., & Katsikitis, M. (2013) · Psychology of Men & Masculinity · doi:10.1037/a0034684 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Choukas-Bradley, S., Roberts, S. R., Maheux, A. J., & Nesi, J. (2021) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/ju92a · Cited by 331 · see citing works
Choukas-Bradley, S., Roberts, S. R., Maheux, A. J., & Nesi, J. (2022) · Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10567-022-00404-5 · Cited by 333 · see citing works
Jarman, H. K., Marques, M. D., McLean, S. A., Slater, A., & Paxton, S. J. (2021) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.11.005 · Cited by 214 · see citing works
Ryding, F. C., & Kuss, D. J. (2020) · Psychology of Popular Media · doi:10.1037/ppm0000264 · Cited by 162 · see citing works
Rodgers, R. F., Paxton, S. J., & Wertheim, E. H. (2021) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2021.03.009 · Cited by 101 · see citing works
Tiggemann, M., & Anderberg, I. (2020) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.10.001 · Cited by 98 · see citing works
Lowe-Calverley, E., & Grieve, R. (2021) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.10.003 · Cited by 78 · see citing works
Kim, H. M. (2021) · New Media & Society · doi:10.1177/1461444820956368 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Yee, Z. W., Griffiths, S., Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, M., Blake, K., Richardson, B., & Krug, I. (2020) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.08.008 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Sharma, A., & Vidal, C. (2023) · Journal of Eating Disorders · doi:10.1186/s40337-023-00898-6 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Jarman, H. K., McLean, S. A., Slater, A., Marques, M. D., & Paxton, S. J. (2024) · New Media & Society · doi:10.1177/14614448211058468 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Critical measurement issues in the assessment of social media influence on body image
Jarman, H. K., McLean, S. A., Griffiths, S., Teague, S. J., Rodgers, R. F., Paxton, S. J., Austen, E., Harris, E., Steward, T., Shatte, A., et al. (2022) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2021.12.007 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Schreurs, L., & Vandenbosch, L. (2022) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2022.107364 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Social networking sites and men’s drive for muscularity: Testing a revised objectification model.
Seekis, V., Bradley, G. L., & Duffy, A. L. (2021) · Psychology of Men & Masculinities · doi:10.1037/men0000265 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Skowronski, M., Busching, R., & Krahé, B. (2021) · Sex Roles · doi:10.1007/s11199-020-01187-1 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Wood, M., & Pila, E. (2022) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2022.04.003 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
The associations between social comparison on social media and young adults’ mental health
Le Blanc-Brillon, J., Fortin, J.-S., Lafrance, L., & Hétu, S. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1597241 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Fortunato, L., Gullo, S., Muscolino, A., La Tona, A., Rodgers, R. F., & Lo Coco, G. (2026) · Adolescent Research Review · doi:10.1007/s40894-026-00285-7 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“…dissatisfaction among adolescent girls in the same way as for women (Fioravanti et al., 2023 ; Pryde & Prichard, 2022 ; Tiggemann & Zaccardo, 2015 ), but less research attention has been paid to this among men (Fatt et al., 2019 ), making it less clear how this might occur among adolescent boys.”
- Authors
- Fatt, S. J., Fardouly, J., & Rapee, R. M.
- Affiliations
- UNSW Sydney (AU)
- Macquarie University (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Fatt, Scott J
- Venue
- New Media & Society
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2019-01-01
- Volume
- 21
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 1311-1325
- ISSN
- 1461-4448 (ISSN-L)
- 1461-7315
- OpenAlex
- W2908166709
- Cited by
- 136
- References
- 55
- Citations by year
- 2026: 23 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 23 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 3
- FWCI
- 14.49
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- New Media & Society (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Body Image and Dysmorphia Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Motivation and Self-Concept in Sports
- Keywords
- fitspiration, men, Instagram, appearance comparison, body satisfaction, exercise motivation, social media, body image, masculinity
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
