TORONTO – A new preliminary study suggests that consistent exposure to a certain body image shapes women’s body size preferences.
Researchers from Durham University in the United Kingdom studied over 100 women as they were shown pictures of models and ordinary women. Female participants who reported prior to the study that they preferred thin bodies continued to do so when they were shown images of models and ordinary women with slender body types.
But as researchers began to expose the observers to an influx of images of women with a larger body shape, the participants began to favour that body type.
“This really gives us some food for thought about the power of exposure to super-slim bodies,” said lead author Dr. Lynda Boothroyd, from Durham University’s Department of Psychology. “There is evidence that being constantly surrounded through the media by celebrities and models who are very thin contributes to girls and women having an unhealthy attitude to their bodies.”
Prior and after the study, participants were asked to select which body type they preferred. The bodies consisted of the same female model, but were altered to range in body mass. A screen-shot of the preference task is shown below and can be found here.
According to the study’s authors, the experiment was designed to determine whether preferences for a particular body size resulted from exposure to images of other women, or from learning that a certain body type is associated with aspirational goals such as high status or better health.
In the experiment, female observers were shown images of women with body types ranging from very thin to overweight. The photos were classified as “aspirational” (healthy, attractive and dressed-well models), “non-aspirational” (shots of ordinary women dressed in grey leotards) or a combination of both.
In short, whether the images shown were depicted as “aspirational” or not, viewing one type of body shape increased a woman’s preference toward that body type.
“It seems that even so-called ‘cautionary’ images against anorexia might still increase our liking for thinner bodies, such as those featuring the late French model Isabelle Caro, which is a sobering thought,” said Boothroyd.
The study was published in journal PLoS ONE.
The study’s authors state further research is required to determine how
body size preferences changes over time and will ideally include men as
well.
The demand to include models of different shapes and sizes in fashion ads continues to grow.
In September, high-fashion end designer Ralph Lauren hired its first plus-sized model.
Earlier this year, 14-year-old Julia Bluhm began a petition asking teen magazine Seventeen to print one Photoshop-free fashion spread each month. In July, the magazine announced it would not digitally alter the body size or face shape of young women featured in its editorial pages.
FULL STUDY: VISUAL DIET VERSUS ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING AS MECHANISMS OF CHANGE IN BODY SIZE PREFERENCES
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