Study Shows Women's Magazines Make Women Feel Better About Their Bodies, But Only Briefly

In a study conducted by Ohio State, college-age women viewed women’s magazines that only pictured “thin, idealized” body types for five straight days. Then researchers found a most peculiar result: the readers’ own body satisfaction actually improved after this.

This result seems to go against longstanding beliefs about the negative effects of modeling and advertising on the self-esteem of young women. But before fashion magazines start heralding themselves as philanthropic outlets, there is this catch: the young women whose body satisfaction improved after looking at magazines were also more likely to report that they dieted during the study.

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