Weight and shape ideals: Thin is dangerously in

Thinness as an ideal of feminine beauty is nowhere more evident than in the popular media. The trend toward an increasingly thinner standard and a mor e tubular body shape has been documented in Playboy centerfolds from the 19 60s to the 1980s. The present study provides information about body standar ds into the 1990s. Body measurements of two groups of models were compared: contemporary Playboy centerfolds and ready-to-wear and commercial print mo dels advertising on the Internet. Results revealed that thinness is increas ing for centerfolds, many of whom meet weight criteria for anorexia. Result s also showed unhealthy levels of thinness in the Internet models. Body sha pe for both cohorts is curvaceous, results which do not support prior resea rch indicating an increase in the tubular body. Discussion focuses on the r ole that both the media and the health industry play in contributing to Wes tern culture's adoption of an unhealthy body ideal.