Lad Mags Hurt Mens' Body Image

Turns out, guys also get self-conscious when looking at images of sexy women. While studies have shown that women's self-esteem takes a dive when they look at models in Cosmopolitan and such mags, the same holds true for men who browse Maxim and the like, LiveScience reports. The problem for men is that they believe they aren’t attractive enough to win over such women, researchers say.

"Men make the inference that in order to be sexual and romantic with women of the similar caliber they see in Maxim magazine, they also need to be attractive," said the lead researcher. She and others interviewed undergraduate men before and after thumbing through such photos. They also compared the male reaction to pictures of attractive women, attractive men, and other sections of the lad mags; the guys who checked out other men reported the fewest body-image issues. (More men's magazines stories.)