"While women consistently report being more dissatisfied with their bodies than men as far as thinness is concerned, that dissatisfaction has decreased over the 31-year period we studied," said Bryan Karazsia from the College of Wooster in the US.
"Body dissatisfaction is not only a common predictor of eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa and binge eating, but also can play a role in the development of depression," said Karazsia.
Studies conducted in the 1990s suggested that the percentage of women who were unhappy with their weight was on the rise.
They found that while women consistently were more dissatisfied than men, their dissatisfaction gradually declined over time, while men's dissatisfaction remained relatively constant throughout.
Also Read
Since men's body image issues are not always about thinness and can often be related to musculature, researchers also conducted a similar meta-analysis, this time focusing on muscle size.
They analysed 81 studies representing more than 23,000 participants over a 14-year span.
According to Karazsia, the findings represent a positive change in the social pressures that women face toward more body acceptance and body diversity.
"The last two decades have witnessed increasing attention and awareness on a body acceptance movement aimed primarily at girls and women," he said.
"That, combined with increased media visibility of role models who run counter to the trend towards thinness, may, in part, help explain their findings," he added.