"I choo-choo-choose you! ": Preferences for body shapes and clothing styles of exercise partners and trainers

Abstract

Physical activity settings are often social environments wherein participants exercise with partners and trainers. Others' body shapes and clothing styles elicit social comparisons and body awareness in exercisers, and the allocation of cognitive resources towards such body factors may impact motor performance/adaptation. The preferences for body shapes and clothing styles of partners and trainers may be important for exercise motivation/performance. As such, the current study examined preferences for the body shapes and clothing styles of exercise partners and trainers. Men (n=25) and women (n=25) completed an online survey in which they were presented 6 same-gender images (3 body shapes [below average, average, above average] by 2 clothing styles [tight/revealing, loose/concealing]). Participants reported the degree to which each image represented ideal body shapes and clothing styles for themselves, partners, and trainers (5-point scale). Results suggest that, averaged across clothing types, men prefer average partners (M=3.32, SD=0.60) compared to above average partners (M=2.74, SD=1.09; p<.05), and below average (M=2.78, SD=0.87) and average trainers (M=3.08, SD=0.75) compared to above average trainers (M=2.12, SD=1.29; p<.05). Women prefer below average (M=2.7, SD=0.89) and average partners (M=2.40, SD=0.89) compared to above average partners (M=1.94, SD=0.87; p<.05), and below average (M=2.36, SD=0.96) and average trainers (M=1.94, SD=0.82) compared to above average trainers (M=1.46, SD=0.73; p<.05). Patterns of preferences are mostly similar across genders, though it seems women prefer below average partners and trainers, whereas men do not show preference for partners but prefer below average trainers.