Thin Ads + Low Body Image = Stress

Oct. 27, 2006 -- Viewing ads of super-skinny models may make young women feel worse about themselves, especially if they have body image problems, according to a new study.

Researcher Gayle Bessenoff, PhD, reports the findings in Psychology of Women Quarterly. Bessenoff is an assistant professor in the University of Connecticut's psychology department.

Bessenoff studied 112 college women (average age: 18) in an introductory psychology course at an unnamed Northeastern U.S. college. Almost all were white.

Half of the women were quite harsh on their bodies, claiming they fell far short of their ideal.

The other women had a more upbeat outlook, saying their bodies were closer to their ideal.

Ad Study

Bessenoff gave the students packets of ads from women's magazines such as Glamour and Vogue.

Half the students got clothing ads showing thin female models. The rest got ads for products other than clothes that showed no female models.

Afterward, the students completed a series of surveys to rate their depressiondepression, agitation, self-esteem, and urge to lose weight.

Those who had viewed the ads of skinny female models fared worse on all the surveys, especially if they had low body image to begin with.

"Women who already have low opinions of their physical appearance are at an even greater risk for negative effects from media images," Bessenoff says in a news release from the journal's publisher.

The theory: Those women may compare themselves to the models, dredging up their bad feelings about their own bodies.