A picture of Jiang Qinqin.

Study: Magazine ads of thin models make women overeat

Research now shows a supermodel figure or the "ideal" thin woman image reflected in magazine advertisements trigger young women, obsessed with their own body image, to eat more. Interestingly, those with a more balanced healthy body image tend to eat less.

The study done in Australia is important in bringing out the point that advertising not only affects the way we think but also our patterns of eating behavior.

Fiona Monro, graduate student at the University of New South Wales, explains the results of the study published in the November edition of the journal, Eating Behaviors: "We would expect people who value the way they look would be reminded by viewing the image and not eat."

"We're not sure why we found the reverse but possibly because of stress...[women obsessed with their appearance] see the idealized image and think about their own body so turn to food," she adds.

Monro says, "They might think 'what's the point, I'm never going to look like that, I may as well eat; or the image makes them think they're thinner than they are so they eat more."

Sixty-eight female university students took part in the study: two hours after their last meal, they were asked to prioritize the importance of physical attractiveness, health and physical fitness to find out whether they give importance to the way their body looks.

Monro and her team were studying the phenomenon of "self-objectification," or the way people perceive themselves and their bodies as an object to be valued for outward show as opposed to intrinsic worth. (AHN)

一项研究表明，为身材所困的年轻女性看到杂志广告上的超级模特或是有着“魔鬼”身材的女性，会食量大增；有意思的是，身材匀称的女性看到这样的广告后反而会吃得更少。

这项来自澳大利亚的研究得出一个重要结论，即广告不仅会影响人们的思维方式，而且还会影响人们的饮食方式。

这项研究结果在《饮食行为》第十一期上发表。新南威尔士大学的研究生菲奥纳·蒙罗解释说：“我们原以为，为身材所困的女性看到广告中的苗条女性后会减少食量。”

“可是不知道为什么得出的结论恰好相反，不过这可能是由于压力所致。当她们看到广告中的苗条女性，可能会很受‘刺激’，所以就大吃特吃。”

蒙罗说，“她们可能会这样想‘我永远也不可能有那么好的身材，还不如痛痛快快的吃’，或者是，她们看到这样的广告后会觉得自己变瘦了，所以就开始大吃。”

新南威尔士大学共有68名女大学生参加了此项研究。为了了解调查对象是否在乎自己的体型，研究人员让她们在吃完饭的两小时后，对外表、健康和身体舒适度三个因素按照重要性进行排序。

目前，蒙罗和她研究小组的其他成员正在研究“自我客体化”这一现象，即人们将自己及自己的身体视为一个客体，来衡量其外在形象而非内在价值。

Vocabulary:

may as well: 最好…；与其…倒不如…