Chinese men and women in the United States and Hong Kong: body and self-esteem ratings as a prelude to dieting and exercise.

OBJECTIVE: The present study compared the body and weight satisfaction, self-esteem, and depression of Chinese male and female university students in Hong Kong and the United States and assessed the impact of these ratings on compensatory behavior such as dieting and exercise.
METHOD: Self-report measures were administered to 501 Chinese participants in the language of their university's locale.
RESULTS: Females reported significantly more body dissatisfaction and depression, and males reported greater weight dissatisfaction (the majority of men wishing to be larger). Overall, Chinese subjects in Hong Kong reported significantly more body and weight dissatisfaction, lower self-esteem, higher depression, more dieting, and less exercise as compared to their counterparts in the United States. DISCUSSION: Asian students in this study mirrored gendered patterns previously reported in Caucasian samples with respect to the relation of body image, self-esteem, and mood. For both sexes, there appeared to be a caricatured mimicking of the bodies perceived to be associated with the dominant culture--men wanted to be larger while the women wanted to be even more petite.