Body image and social anxiety literature abound, and research relative to these two constructs has taken many directions. Body image researchers have focused on the relationship of body image to body composition, gender, age, and self-esteem. The self-presentation theory of social anxiety was developed to collectively incorporate a variety of characteristics seen in persons who demonstrate anxiety when faced with the prospect or presence of interpersonal evaluation such as public self-awareness / self-consciousness, need for social approval, and fear of negative evaluation (e.g., when giving a speech, dating, etc.). Despite significant attention given to both concepts independently, prior to the development of the social physique anxiety (SPA) construct, research exploring social anxiety specific to "the body" was noticeably absent. Clearly, some individuals could relate to feelings of anxiousness when in social situations where their body was the focus of real or perceived evaluation, such as during an annual physical exam, wearing a bathing suit at a crowded beach, or exercising in a public setting; however, a tool to measure this specific phenomenon was not available. As a result, the Social Physique Anxiety Scale (SPAS) was constructed to measure this subtype of social anxiety. A 12-item self-report scale was developed that demonstrated both high internal and test-retest reliability. It also correlated appropriately with concerns regarding others' evaluations and with feelings about one's body. Validity data showed that those who scored high on the SPAS were heavier and had a higher percentage of body fat than those who scored lower. In addition, high scorers reported significantly greater anxiety during a real evaluation of their body, further supporting the validity of the scale. Since the initial publication introducing the measurement of SPA and suggesting possible uses of the SPAS in both basic research and applied settings, significant contributions have been made by the research community toward further understanding this construct.