Thinness and body shape of Playboy centerfolds from 1978 to 1998

Katzmarzyk, Peter T.; Davis, Caroline

doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0801571

Cited by 128 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Whereas an increase in news coverage might have been expected to result in heightened awareness of overweight status, by emphasizing the increased prevalence of overweight, the stories may have contributed to the perception that overweight had become the norm. At the same time, the thin female body ideal portrayed in media imagery persisted across the two survey periods (20)(21)(22). Given that women's weight assessments became more forgiving during this time period, it would appear that media images do not dictate women's attitudes toward their weight or at least that they have become less influential in recent years.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 90%

From “Overweight” to “About Right”: Evidence of a Generational Shift in Body Weight Norms

Burke

Heiland

Nadler

2010

Obesity

185

177

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In this article, we describe differences in the self‐perception of weight status in the United States between the two most recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) periods (1988–1994 and 1999–2004), and test the hypothesis that secular increases in adult mean BMI, adult obesity, and childhood obesity contributed to changes over time in weight perceptions. We find that the probability of self‐classifying as overweight is significantly lower on average in the more recent survey, for both women and men, controlling for objective weight status and other factors. Among women, the decline in the tendency to self‐classify as overweight is concentrated in the 17–35 age range, and is more pronounced among women with normal BMI than those with overweight BMI. Among men, the shift away from feeling overweight is roughly equal across age groups. Overweight men exhibit a sharper decline in feeling overweight than normal weight men. Despite the declines in feeling overweight between surveys, weight misperception did not increase significantly for men and decreased by a sizable margin among women. We interpret the findings as evidence of a generational shift in social norms related to body weight. As a result, people may be less likely to desire weight loss than previously, limiting the effectiveness of public health campaigns aimed at weight reduction. On the other hand, there may be health benefits associated with improved body image.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 90%

From “Overweight” to “About Right”: Evidence of a Generational Shift in Body Weight Norms

Burke

Heiland

Nadler

2010

Obesity

185

177

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Studies have reported a significant change in the weight and size of female and male models portrayed throughout the media in western society and the concept of the 'perfect or ideal body' (8)(9)(10). Over time the cultural ideal for women's body size and shape has become considerably thinner and leaner and men's body size and shape has become stronger and more muscular.…”

Section: Types Of Media Exposurementioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of the media on eating disorders in children and adolescents

Morris¹,

Katzman

2003

Paediatrics &Amp; Child Health

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“…54 The blue curves in the Panels 1 and 2 of Figure 2 indicate the following: the ideals for white and black women, respectively, are 20.01 and 21.98-effectively, 20 and 22; the ideals for white and black men are 22.98 and 24.36. The white female ideal is close to, but somewhat higher than, the estimated mean value of BMI among Playboy centerfolds between 1978 and 1998, placed at 18.5 (standard error 0.8 units), based on the models' self-reported measurements (Katzmarzyk andDavis 2001, Sypeck et al 2006). Higher male ideals are consistent with, but somewhat lower than, the estimated mean BMI values of male models in Playgirl magazine, which ranged from 24.8 to 27.7 (also based on self-reports) over the period 1986-1997 (Spitzer, Henderson, and Zivian 1999).…”

Section: Evidence Of Differences In Sociocultural Ideals and Related mentioning

confidence: 99%

Race, Obesity, and the Puzzle of Gender Specificity

Burke

Heiland

2008

SSRN Journal

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Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Obesity is significantly more prevalent among non-Hispanic African-American (henceforth "black") women than among non-Hispanic white American (henceforth "white") women. These differences have persisted without much alteration since the early 1970s, despite substantial increases in the rates of obesity among both groups. Over the same time period, however, we observe little to no significant differences in the prevalence of obesity between black men and white men. Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) pertaining to the past two decades, we evaluate an extensive list of potential explanations for these patterns, including race and gender differences in economic incentives, in body size ideals, and in biological factors. We find that the gaps in mean BMI and in obesity prevalence between black women and white women do not narrow substantially after controlling for educational attainment, household income, occupation, location, and marital status-nor do such controls eliminate the gender-specificity of racial differences in obesity. Following these results, we narrow down the list of explanations to two in particular, both of which are based on the idea that black women (but not also black men) face weaker incentives than white women to avoid becoming obese; one explanation involves health-related incentives, the other, sociocultural incentives. While the data show qualified support for both explanations, we find that the sociocultural incentives hypothesis has the potential to reconcile a greater number of stylized facts. Terms of use: Documents in

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Thinness and body shape of Playboy centerfolds from 1978 to 1998

Cited by 128 publications

References 15 publications

From “Overweight” to “About Right”: Evidence of a Generational Shift in Body Weight Norms

From “Overweight” to “About Right”: Evidence of a Generational Shift in Body Weight Norms

The impact of the media on eating disorders in children and adolescents

Race, Obesity, and the Puzzle of Gender Specificity

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