Warning labels on fashion images: Short‐ and longer‐term effects on body dissatisfaction, eating disorder symptoms, and eating behavior

Abstract

Objective: Fashion warning labels that caution readers about digitally altered images have been recommended and adopted by several countries to prevent body dissatisfaction and eating disorders. This study investigated the short- and longer-term influence of fashion warning labels on affect, body dissatisfaction, eating disorder symptoms, and snack consumption using a randomized-controlled experiment. Method: Female undergraduates (n = 118) were randomized to view and rate responses to fashion images either with or without a warning label. They then consumed snacks and completed questionnaires. 64 participants (54%) completed follow-up online surveys asking them to view and rate new fashion images with or without warning labels once per week for four weeks. Primary outcomes were affect, body dissatisfaction, eating disorder symptoms, and kilocalories consumed. Results: Overall, fashion warning labels had no short-term effects on affect, body dissatisfaction, or kilocalories consumed in the lab. However, individuals who reported engaging in restrictive eating consumed fewer kilocalories when exposed to advertisements with warning labels (M = 170.33, SD = 120.78) versus no labels (M = 286.46, SD = 166.30), p = .008. Warning labels also had no protective effects after repeated exposure over four weeks on affect or eating disorder symptoms, and significantly increased appearance orientation (p = .001). Discussion: Warning labels on media images are unlikely to be an effective policy tool to prevent negative affect, body dissatisfaction, and eating disorder symptoms, and, in some cases, may exacerbate these concerns.

A systems thinking perspective on the barriers to treatment access for people with eating disorders

“…For example, as part of a strategic science approach, it has been proposed that researchers partner with government influencers to develop research questions that address the impacts of policy decisions (Roberto & Brownell, ) and consider questions important in health financing decisions, such as whether there is a need for greater regulation (Whiteford & Weissman, ). There are numerous potential system reforms that require examination, such as the influence of private and public health insurance (Escobar‐Koch et al, ), media, and advertising regulation (Kwan, Haynos, Blomquist, & Roberto, ), standardized evaluation of services (Attia, Marcus, Walsh, & Guarda, ), and training and accreditation standards (Whiteford & Weissman, ). Although it is expected that such reforms will have advantages in addressing barriers to treatment access, there are likely to be challenges in measuring their effects.…”

Population‐level policy recommendations for the prevention of disordered weight control behaviors: A scoping review

“…Limiting the modification of images is a frequently recommended policy avenue for reducing DWCB risk among populations, but several articles in this review described that warning labels on altered images may unintentionally trigger greater body image concern (Danthinne et al, 2020; Giorgianni et al, 2020; Kwan et al, 2018; McBride et al, 2019; Paraskeva et al, 2017). One older study found that viewing warning labels resulted in reduced body dissatisfaction (Slater et al, 2012), but this finding was rare in a systematic review and meta‐analysis of studies investigating the impact of disclaimer or warning labels on body image (Danthinne et al, 2020).…”

Attractive appearance, future wealth! How exposure to visual wealth on social media contributes to female self-objectification

“…To pursuit the so-called ideal bodies, some women engage in unhealthy dieting and other compensatory behaviors such as excessive exercises [45,46] . Beyond such short-term effects on women, several studies indicate that the self-objectification of women can also exert long-term impacts on personal growth and career development [6,47] . As an example, Wang et al randomly assigned participants to the high-or low-competitive condition, then asked them to report state self-objectification and the belief of personal growth (measuring to what extent participants believed they could live productive, fulfilling, and meaningful lives) [6] .…”