Abstract
Relying upon a content analysis of one specific type of medium to which young people are exposed beginning at an early age, on a regular basis, and for many years (i.e., animated cartoons), the present study examines what types of messages are provided about being underweight, overweight and normal weight. This research examines the following issues: (1) How prevalent is weight-related content in animated cartoons? (2) Has this prevalence changed over time? (3) What “types” of characteristics tend to be associated with being thinner-than-normal or heavier-than normal? Results indicate that the prevalence of both underweight and overweight characters has changed dramatically over the course of the past several decades. These relationships are both curvilinear in nature, but in recent decades have demonstrated a significant increase in the proportion of all cartoons showing characters that are underweight and a simultaneous decrease in the prevalence of characters that are overweight. Many variables were found to differ based on cartoon characters’ body weight, including gender, age, intelligence, physical attractiveness, emotional states experienced, prosocial behaviors, antisocial behaviors, and overall goodness/badness. Whenever differences were found, the overriding tendency was for cartoons to provide positive messages about being thin and negative messages about being overweight.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Malkin A.R., Wornian K., Chrisler J.C.: Women and weight: Gendered messages on magazine covers. Sex Roles, 40, 647–655, 1999.
Nemeroff C.J., Stein R.I., Diehl N.S., Smilack K.M.: From the Cleavers to the Clintons: Role choices and body orientation as reflected in magazine article content. Int. J. Eat. Disord., 16, 167–176, 1994.
Petrie T.A., Austin L.J., Cowley B.J., Helmcamp A., et al.: Sociocultural expectations of attractiveness for males. Sex Roles, 35, 581–602, 1996.
Spitzer B.L., Henderson K.A., Zivian M.T.: Gender differences in population versus media body sizes: A comparison over four decades. Sex Roles, 40, 545–565, 1999.
Stice E.: Risk and maintenance factors for eating pathology: A meta-analytic review. Psychol. Bull., 128, 825–848, 2002.
Fouts G., Vaughan K.: Television situation comedies: Male weight, negative references, and audience reactions. Sex Roles, 46, 439–442, 2002.
Fouts G., Burggraf K.: Television situation comedies: Female weight, male negative comments, and audience reactions. Sex Roles, 42, 925–932, 2000.
Pratt C.A., Pratt C.B., Montague S.N., Salazar J.C., Graves M.C.: Do popular magazines promote weightcontrol messages? Implications of weight-control advertisements for the health of African American women. Howard Journal of Communications, 7, 349–364, 1996.
Guillen E.O., Barr S.I.: Nutrition, dieting, and fitness messages in a magazine for adolescent women, 1970–1990. J. Adolesc. Health, 15, 464–472, 1994.
Andersen A.E., DiDomenico L.: Diet vs. shape content of popular male and female magazines: A doseresponse relationship to the incidence of eating disorders? Int. J. Eat. Disord., 11, 283–287, 1992.
Paik H., Comstock G.: The effects of television violence on antisocial behavior: A meta-analysis. Communication Research, 21, 516–546, 1994.
Shrum L.J., Wyler R.S. Jr., O’Guinn T.C.: The effects of television consumption on social perceptions: The use of priming procedures to investigate psychological processes. J. Consumer Research, 24, 447–458, 1998.
Singer M.I., Slovak K., Frierson T., York P.: Viewing preferences, symptoms of psychological trauma, and violent behaviors among children who watch television. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry, 37, 1041–1048, 1998.
Akers R.L.: Deviant behavior. Belmont, CA, Wadsworth, 1973.
Bandura A.: Social learning theory. New York, General Learning Press, 1971.
Kunkel D., Wilson B.J., Linz D., Potter J., Donnerstein E., Smith S.L., Blumenthal E., Gray T.: Violence in television programming overall: University of California Santa Barbara Study (pp. I1–I172). In: Mediascope, Inc. National Television Violence Study 1994–1995. Studio City, CA, Mediascope, Inc., 1996.
Gerbner G., Gross L.: Living with television: The violence profile. Journal of Communication, 26, 173–199, 1976.
Signorielli N., Morgan M.: Cultivation analysis: New directions in media effects research. Newbury Park, CA, Sage Publications, 1990.
Greenberg B.: Television and role socialization: An overview. In: Pearl D., Bouthilet L., Lazar J. (Eds.), Television and behavior: Ten years of scientific progress and implications for the eighties–Volume II: Technical reviews. Rockville, MD, National Institute of Mental Health, 1982.
Tiggeman M., Pickering A.S.: Role of television in adolescent women’s body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness. Int. J. Eat. Disord., 20, 199–203, 1996.
Lenberg J.: The encyclopedia of animated cartoons. New York, Facts on File, 1991.
Maltin L.: Of mice and magic: A history of American animated cartoons. New York, Plume, 1980.
Henderson-King D., Henderson-King E., Hoffman L.: Media images and women’s self-evaluations: Social context and importance of attractiveness as moderators. Person. Soc. Psychol. Bull., 27, 1407–1416, 2001.
Wilcox K., Laird J.D.: The impact of media images of super-slender women on women’s self-esteem: Identification, social comparison, and self-perception. J. Res. Person., 34, 278–286, 2000.
Durkin S.J., Paxton S.J.: Predictors of vulnerability to reduced body image satisfaction and psychological wellbeing in response to exposure to idealized female media images in adolescent girls. J. Psychosom. Res., 53, 995–1005, 2002.
Lin L.F., Kulik J.A.: Social comparison and women’s body satisfaction. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 24, 115–123, 2002.
Murray S.H., Touyz S.W., Beumont P.J.V.: Awareness and perceived influence of body ideals in the media: A comparison of eating disorder patients and the general community. Eat. Disord., 4, 33–46, 1996.
Stice E.: Modeling of eating pathology and social reinforcement of the thin-ideal predict onset of bulimic symptoms. Behav. Res. Ther., 36, 931–944, 1998.
Thomsen S.R., McCoy J.K., Williams M.: Internalizing the impossible: Anorexic outpatients’ experiences with women’s beauty and fashion magazines. Eat. Disord., 9, 49–64, 2001.
Pinhas L., Toner B.B., Ali A., Garfinkel P.E., Stuckless N.: The effects of the ideal of female beauty on mood and body satisfaction. Int. J. Eat. Disord., 25, 223–226, 1999.
Eberhardt M.S., Ingram D.D., Makuc D.M., et al.: Urban and rural health chartbook. Health, United States. Hyattsville, MD, National Center for Health Statistics, 2001.
Troiano R.P., Flegal K.M.: Overweight children and adolescents: Description, epidemiology, and demographics. Pediatrics, 101, 497–504, 1998.
Menashe C.L., Siegel M.: The power of a frame: An analysis of newspaper coverage of tobacco issues-United States, 1985–1996. Journal of Health Communication, 3, 307–325, 1998.
Williams J.R.: Increasingly artful: Applying commercial marketing communication techniques to family planning communication. Integration, 33, 70–72, 1992.
Power J.G., Murphy S.T., Coover G.: Priming prejudice: How stereotypes and counter-stereotypes influence attribution of responsibility and credibility among ingroups and outgroups. Human Communication Research, 23, 36–58, 1996.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Klein, H., Shiffman, K.S. Thin is “in” and stout is “out”: What animated cartoons tell viewers about body weight. Eat Weight Disord 10, 107–116 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03327532
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03327532