Impairment of the Body Image: Perceptions and Subjective Evaluations in Adolescents and Young Adults

Abstract

The construction of body image consists of the ways in which the body is con- sidered, perceived, and evaluated. The ideal body image has been changing considerably over the centuries; the discrepancy between real and ideal body, today, leads many individuals to be dissatisfied with their body, develop nega- tive feelings, and, in some cases, unhealthy behaviors. All this has led, in recent decades, to a sort of cult of the body. As a matter of fact, in Western culture the body has turned into an idol, a strict and demanding god to which one often becomes a slave. This article presents a bibliographical review on the main the- ories concerning body image, thus opening a space for reflection on its relative disorders, first of all that of body dysmorphism.