PRESENTING THIN MEDIA MODELS AFFECTS WOMEN'S CHOICE OF DIET OR NORMAL SNACKS

Authors: Krahé, Barbara; Krause, Christina

Source: Psychology of Women Quarterly, Volume 34, Number 3, September 2010 , pp. 349-355(7)

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Abstract:

Our study explored the influence of thin- versus normal-size media models and of self-reported restrained eating behavior on women's observed snacking behavior. Fifty female undergraduates saw a set of advertisements for beauty products showing either thin or computer-altered normal-size female models, allegedly as part of a study on effective advertising. After rating the advertisements, they were offered a choice of snacks that came either in a normal or a diet variant. Habitual tendency to show restrained eating behavior was measured as an individual difference variable. Above and beyond body mass index, significantly more women chose the diet snack in the thin-model condition than in the normal-size model condition. The model main effect was moderated by habitual restrained eating. In the normal-size model condition, the more women reported restrained eating, the more likely they were to choose the diet snack. By contrast, women in the thin-model group were more likely to choose the diet snack regardless of individual differences in habitual restrained eating. The findings show that in the present sample of White college women the impact of body images pressures was pervasive, affecting some women by encouraging habitual restrained eating and even less restrained eaters through their exposure to published images of thin models.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2010.01580.x

Affiliations: 1: University of Potsdam, Germany

Publication date: 2010-09-01