In the Eye of the Beholder: Thin-Ideal Media Affects Some, but Not Most, Viewers in a Meta-Analytic Review of Body Dissatisfaction in Women and Men

The issue of thin-ideal (or muscularity ideal for males) media effects on viewers continues to be debated and discussed within the scientific community. Many scholars have concluded that thin-ideal media can have an appreciable effect on viewers. More recently several scholars have contested this issue suggesting that media effects may be small to negligible or limited to groups of individuals already at risk for body dissatisfaction. The current meta-analysis, the most comprehensive to date with 204 studies, sought to examine the effects of thin or muscular media ideals on men and women in experimental, correlational, and longitudinal studies. Outcomes included general body dissatisfaction, restrictive eating, and symptoms of eating disorders. Results indicate little evidence for media effects in males. Effects were minimal for most females as well although some evidence suggested that women with preexisting body dissatisfaction may be primed by media ideals, particularly in experimental studies. Little evidence emerged for ethnic differences or differences across media types. However, some evidence emerged that publication bias issues may be inflating effect size estimates in some areas of study. Further, contrary to expectations, effect sizes were generally smaller for child samples than for adult and college student samples. Taken together, it is concluded that media effects are generally minimal and limited to those with preexisting body dissatisfaction. The evidence further did not support substantive links between media use and eating disorder symptoms.