Do I look fat in this suit?

This past weekend I was sitting at home watching football with my dad and sister's fiance. Charles Barkley was shown on the sidelines in a extremely unflattering shot from the gut up. The commentators followed with a line about how many Thanksgiving dinners he's enjoyed. I made a comment about how unflattering the whole scene was.

My dad and sister's finace added with their thoughts on Barkley and the comments. In addition, one of my male friends at school is constantly worried about his weight and expresses concern to get to the gym more often.

Point being, I think as women, we tend to forget that body image issues are not a single sex issue.

Men also have body image concerns, and while they are not as open and discussed as typical female image concerns, theirs linger just the same. One site I found said that when surveyed, 45% of men admit they are unhappy with their appearance to the 55% of women who were less than satisfied with their physiques.

However unlikely this sounds, its a true testimate to the conversational differences between men and women. While women's body issues gain more media attention on television, magazines, and around all local water coolers; men's body concerns are rarely discussed. This concept leads women to believe men are much more confident creatures, and often lead to body talk escalating.

Advertisements in all media outlets have always favored the thinner most beautiful women to lead in every campaign from cologne to chocolate. While men are less represented. What women sometimes fail to understand is while females take these ads to heart, men do as well.

What areas of your body are you most self conscious about? Have you noticed any body image concerns with men?