New Study Finds Women Have Better Self-Esteem

Proof that medical studies about weight issues are confusing: Earlier this week, a study revealed that people who are conscious of their weight eat more and gain more weight. Now, a new study published in the same week concludes that women have a better sense of self than they had in years.

Bryan Karazsia, PhD, of The College of Wooster, presented the research which was collected by Karazsia and colleagues from 1981-2012. They conducted a meta-analysis of more than 250 studies representing 100,228 participants to analyze trends in how people felt about their bodies, specifically in regard to weight.

In the study, women consistently were more dissatisfied than men, but their dissatisfaction gradually declined over time, while men's dissatisfaction remained relatively constant throughout.

Research conducted in the 1990s suggested that the percentage of women who were unhappy with their weight was on the rise. No word what was the cause of this rise.

"The last two decades have witnessed increasing attention and awareness on a body acceptance movement aimed primarily at girls and women," says Karazsia. That, combined with increasing visibility of curve/plus size models and body positive advocates particularly in social media, help with findings. Maybe there's hope after all.