Yeah I definitely think that men have body image issues as well. Luckily when I was very young I realized that girls like different type of bodies – a girl I dated in high school liked the long lean swimmer type look, another friend of mine liked the big Arnold type jacked guy stereotype as well. Then again I’ve also had girls tell me that they like the NFL wide receiver look – big, but not too big.
I remember reading on wikipedia that the body type that men on average think is perfect is much more muscular than the one women on average prefer – something about male dominance over their peers being involved in this.
I think guys have a much bigger issue with their height. It’s more “OK” to be a fat guy than it is to be a short guy (as a 5ft8-5ft9 guy when I was 15-16 it really bothered me. I’m 20 now, and it hasn’t bothered me at all for years). In a weird sort of way it seems like it’s more OK to be a short girl than it is a fat girl.
Right now as soon as I become fat proof (it’s taking tons of time as I forget to get my calories some days, so I’ve steadily been gaining weight) I’m going to start boxing or kickboxing and lifting weights. In the long run I think for a 5ft9 20 year old male being at a lean 160 would be healthy. Pick function over aesthetics, and the aesthetics will come (so long as you aren’t doing anything metabolically damaging).
