Viewing models inspires young women.

• Position: Mass Media - Brief article

When researchers had college-age women view magazines for five consecutive days that included only images of women with thin, idealized body types, something surprising happened: the readers' own body satisfaction improved. The boost in body image came with a catch, however. Those whose body satisfaction improved the most also were more likely to report that they had engaged in dieting behaviors such as skipping meals or cutting carbohydrates during the course of the study.

That suggests these individuals may be inspired by the images they view and become momentarily hopeful that they can improve their own body shape and possibly even achieve the same thin-ideal bodies they see in magazines, indicates Silvia Westerwick, associate professor of communication at Ohio State University, Columbus.

These results contradict hundreds of previous studies suggesting that the media obsession with promoting ideal bodies only damages women's satisfactien about their weight and figure.

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