Just As We Embrace Plus-Size Models, Scientists Say They’re Fuelling The Obesity Crisis
Women such as Ashley Graham are teaching us to own our curves - not be ashamed of them. But scientists don’t think that’s a good thing. [Photo: Instagram/Ashley Graham]
The plus-size movement has been one of the biggest – and arguably best – advancements to happen to the fashion and beauty industries in recent years.
Women and brands have taken a stand and raised a proverbial middle finger to conventional beauty standards, paving the way for a more diverse range of models that we can actually all relate to.
For the first time in decades, women that aren’t super skinny have taken the runways by storm and been hailed as icons by their peers. Take Ashley Graham, for example, and Tess Holliday.
So, a group of Canadian scientists suggesting that featuring plus-size models in advertising campaigns might fuel the obesity epidemic isn’t at all helpful.
We’ve experienced countless decades of skeletal models teaching us that the image of perfection is unhealthy. And now that we’re finally embracing diversity, we’re being told it could be a bad thing?
A UK size 26, Tess Holliday hopes wow-factor shoots like this one will help Brits embrace plus-size fashion. [Photo: Instagram/Tess Holliday via Marie Claire UK]
The scientists, from Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business, say that campaigns starring larger women “encourage the idea that being overweight is acceptable.”
Dr Brent McFerran says that cutting down on the number of underweight and aesthetically flawless models could have a detrimental effect on the public’s eating habits.
He and his team conducted five experiments to see how people react to cues suggesting obesity is acceptable. Each had the same outcome: the subjects showed less motivation to engage in a healthier lifestyle and less desire to eat healthy food.
It’s not just models adopting the roles of body activists. Celebs such as Rebel Wilson have helped prove that there’s a place for plus-size models in the entertainment industry, too. [Photo: Instagram/Rebel Wilson]
Although this study appears to show that accepting larger bodies results is associated with negative consequences, research also shows that “fat-shaming” plus-size women fails to improve motivation to lose weight, says Dr McFerran.
Instead, he suggests that advertisers come up with a better approach.
“Since neither accepting nor stigmatising larger bodies achieves the desired results, it would be beneficial for marketers and policy makers to instead find a middle ground - using images of people with a healthy weight, and more importantly, refraining from drawing attention to the body size issue entirely.”
The UK has finally got a plus-size fashion show going - which features a tiny number of models compared to the huge amount at all the Fashion Week presentations globally. [Photo: Rex]
Whatever this study may indicate, scientists, health experts and the like still need to concern themselves with the negative impact that the scarily thin models that dominate the media spotlight have.
While there may be dangers associated with looking up to plus-size models, let’s not skim over the numerous dangers that come with idolising size eight (and under) women.
And there are still so few plus-size models. For example, at last night’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show (the most watched fashion event in the world, FYI), not one plus-size model was included in the 44-large model line-up.
So for now we reckon the introduction of a more diverse spectrum of models can only be a good thing – if only to balance things out and represent women of all body types.
