Interview with Dr.K

September 27, 2021

Last week I had my first research interview. I had the opportunity to talk to Dr.Kaminski, a psychology professor at University of North Texas. I had not yet researched disordered eating or body dissatisfaction in males yet, so I decided to discuss that topic with her since I read the abstracts to some studies she had done over the topic. I learned that eating disorders in males are more common among the gay community, and that disordered eating habits in homosexual men and heterosexual women are similar because in society both are more objectified than straight men. However, the way that weight is seen in men and women differ when it comes to eating disorders. Because while women often look to lower the number that is on the scale, men often try to constantly build muscle. One topic that came up was the percentage of men and women who feel satisfied with their bodies, and while around 70% of men do not struggle with body dissatisfaction, only 10% of women say they don't struggle with body image issues. This idea reiterated for me my goal of my independent study, which is to help young women and adolescents who have struggled with eating disorders, as well as find ways to prevent the. Why is it that up to 90% of women struggle with this, while only around 30% of men do? Doesn't that say something about our society?