Drive for leanness and health-related behavior within a social/cultural perspective

•In both sexes, perceived media pressure correlated with drive for leanness.•In both sexes, athletic-physique internalization correlated with drive for leanness.•Drive for leanness correlated with exercise frequency and self-reported dieting.•Drive for leanness partially mediated the internalization and exercise relationship.•Drive for leanness partially mediated the internalization and dieting relationship.

We examined relationships between drive for leanness and perceived media pressure to change appearance, internalization of an ideal physique, exercise frequency, and dieting. Men and women (N = 353) completed the Drive for Leanness Scale, the Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance Questionnaire-3, the Eating Attitudes Test-26, and a demographic inventory. Drive for leanness was significantly correlated with athletic internalization (.52), pressure to attain an ideal physique (.25), exercise frequency (.36), and dieting (.25). Structural equation modeling revealed a good fitting model (χ2 = 2.85, p < .241; CFI = .99; NNFI = .98; RMSEA = .04; SRMR = .02) with internalization predicting drive for leanness, which in turn predicted dieting and exercise. Results reveal social/cultural theory helps enhance the understanding of the drive for leanness and its relationship with health-related behavior.