France has long been associated with fashion, and fashion has unfortunately been linked with unhealthy body image, so it would seem to follow that French teens are at great risk for developing unrealistic expectations related to body size.

Surprisingly, a three-year study involving about 500 French teens indicates otherwise. An Oct. 23 article on the British news website Times Online provided the following details about the research:

The teenagers tended to reject Kate Moss as an example of beauty, citing instead the pop star Beyonce and Amel Bent, the French singer. Most preferred a photograph of the celebrity Nicole Richie taken in December 2004 to one from August 2005, when she had lost weight.

Dorothee Guilhem, an anthropologist at the National Centre for Scientific Research, said that French teenage boys were attracted mainly to women who looked as though they liked their food. "Feminine corporal portliness is not necessarily judged to be ugly by the boys," she said, quoting a 19-year-old as saying: "For a woman, it's normal to have a bit of fat. Its a sign of good health."

"The study contradicts the belief that France was following the U.S. and Britain on the road to obesity and eating disorders," reported Times Online writer Adam Sage.

Labels: body image, france

Posted By: Aspen/CRC