Obesity and the Media

Media is a broad term that refers to forms of public communication designed to provide information to large groups of people. Common forms of media include newspapers, magazines, billboards, art, radio, television, and the internet.

The media not only conveys information reflective of cultural ideals, values, and current events, but it also dramatically influences public opinion and cultural norms. With regard to weight, mainstream media in Western cultures broadcasts pejorative messages about fat and obesity and laudatory messages about fitness, thinness, and muscularity. The purposes of this entry are (1) to review sociocultural messages conveyed by mainstream Western media about weight, and (2) to explore the influence of exposure to these messages on attitudes about fatness and obesity, psychological health, and eating behavior in media consumers.

Messages about Weight and Appearance in Western Media

Mainstream Western media presents powerful information about weight and cultural ideals of appearance to the public at large. Western media refers to media originating from or reflective of the majority cultures of the United States, Canada, Australia, and Western Europe. A quick inspection of a fashion magazine, series of commercials, or billboard advertisement from Western media makes obvious dominant cultural attitudes about weight and ideals of appearance. With almost no exception, the ideal female is depicted with flawless skin, flowing hair, a thin waist, light-colored eyes, and long legs and the ideal man is muscular, fit, tall, and lean with broad shoulders and a well-developed chest.

Presentations of the ideal weight and appearance of men and women are omnipresent in Western media and have become increasingly extreme over the last few decades. For women, media representations have become exceedingly thin. Whereas Marilyn Monroe's voluptuous figure represented the classic ideal of beauty 50 years ago, emaciated, underweight models now dominate fashion media. Playboy and Miss America Pageant contestants are almost all underweight, with about 25 percent meeting weight criteria for anorexia nervosa (body mass index [BMI = weight (kg)/height (m)2] < 17.5).

For men, models are increasingly more muscular and less fat. In a study of Playgirl centerfolds models from the 1970s to the 1990s, the average male model lost 12 pounds of fat and gained 27 pounds of muscle. Research documenting trends in action-figure toys marketed to boys (e.g., GI Joe) found that action figures grew significantly larger in size, more muscular, and less fat from the 1970s to the 1990s. When extrapolated to human size, the bodies of male action figures are as unattainable for boys as the Barbie doll is for girls.

There are few media representations of female and male models that do not promote and reflect the ultrathin, ultramuscular ideals. Overweight and obese individuals are extremely underrepresented in the media, particularly in fashion- and beauty-oriented outlets. In prime-time fictional television shows, for example, obese women only represent about three percent of characters, whereas about 33 percent of actors are underweight. This is in stark contrast to the current American population, in which almost one-third of individuals are obese and two-thirds are overweight.

When overweight individuals are presented in the media, they are generally presented with particular personality and demographic characteristics. Overweight and obese individuals are more likely to be the subject of ridicule and comic relief in television programs. Overweight women are less likely to have a romantic partner, have strong friendships, or be physically affectionate in mainstream media. Additionally, overweight actors are rarely presented in ways that do not draw attention to, mock, or utilize their bodily size and appearance in some specific way.

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