Source+7+Facts

[] > **average-size models (UK dress size 14) are just as effective in advertising products as ultra-thin models **, as long as they are equally attractive. > **curbing the impact of idealised media images leads to improvement in body image and body-related behaviours, or at least to harm reduction. **
 * 1) There are over 100 published scientific studies on the impact of thin, ‘perfected’, media images on girls and women and there are also more recent scientific studies which document the impact of the muscular media ideal on boys and men. Not every single person is vulnerable to detrimental media effects (see Point 4), but negative effects do occur in the **clear majority **of adolescent girls and women.
 * 2) Higher order data analyses that can assess the link between exposure to idealised media images and body dissatisfaction across all studies containing relevant measures (meta-analyses) show that, on average, exposure to the thin media ideal is linked with greater body dissatisfaction and more unhealthy eating beliefs and behaviours in women.
 * 3) Girls aged 5½ to 7½ reported less body esteem and a greater desire for a thinner body after exposure to images of thin dolls (Barbie™)compared to girls who saw images of dolls with a healthy body size (Emme™) or no dolls
 * 4) One study showed that watching appearance-related television, like soap operas, predicted a decrease in appearance satisfaction one year later in 5-8 year-old girls.
 * 5) Another study showed that the amount of immediate increase in body dissatisfaction caused in an exposure experiment predicted increased body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness two years later, consistent with the idea that effects are cumulative.
 * 6) Karl Lagerfeld (head designer of Chanel) said on Radio 4 in October 2009 that "size zero models" are attractive, and advertisers have claimed that "thin models sell better". Yet, we are not aware of any published evidence to support this claim. On the contrary, research examining perceived advertising effectiveness in the UK and Australia demonstrates that
 * 1) Although we are in need of long-term studies of interventions, we can state with confidence that brief training in media literacy (to increase critical awareness of ‘perfected’ media models and the harm they can do) reduces the immediate negative effects of exposure, and more systematic, intensive interventions over days or weeks can significantly reduce one important risk factor: internalisation of the slender ideal. This provides further causal evidence, showing that
 * 1) attention has turned to identifying factors that make certain groups of individuals particularly vulnerable. These factors include: age (adolescents appear more vulnerable than adults), heavier body weight, and particularly internalisation of ‘body perfect’ ideals as personal goals, such as thin-ideal internalisation in women.
 * 2) Therefore body dissatisfaction is a significant risk for physical health, mental health, and thus well-being. Any factor, such as idealised media images, that increases body dissatisfaction is therefore an important influence on well-being.
 * 3) **Thus, the weight of evidence across a great many studies documents that ultra-thin and highly muscular ‘body perfect’ ideals have a detrimental effect on women and men, respectively.**