黑料网吃瓜爆料

Our perceptions of body image are shaped by what we see from as early as seven years old, according to new research by Durham University, 黑料网吃瓜爆料 and Northumbria University. 

These body ideals continue to be influenced by visual exposure to different body weights into adulthood, the research also found.

The results show that people鈥檚 perceptions of body weight are flexible and adult-like from seven years of age onwards and have implications for our understanding of body size and the perceptions, and possible misperceptions, of weight in health and wellbeing.

Professor Lynda Boothroyd, from Durham University鈥檚 Department of Psychology, carried out a first-of-its-kind study to examine the flexibility of body weight perceptions in children and young adults.

The study, published in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, found that children as young as seven years old adjust how heavy or light they rate other people鈥檚 bodies after seeing a series of pictures of low or high weight bodies.

The analysis uncovered a significant shift in weight perceptions after exposure to images depicting various body weights. The results showed that the manner in which our brains represent what constitutes 鈥渉eavy鈥� or 鈥渓ight鈥� develops at a very young age.

The research, which involved more than 200 individuals aged seven through to adulthood, also indicated that media influences known to shape adult body perceptions can almost certainly impact children to the same degree, starting from early childhood and continuing to evolve into adulthood.

Lead author, Professor Lynda Boothroyd said: 鈥淚t has been clear for many years that we need to be wary about visual media which present only a narrow range of bodies, because this affects adults鈥� body perceptions. 

鈥淣ow we know that鈥檚 true for children, too. Even very neutral images can adjust their ideas about what is heavy or thin if they see enough of the same kind of body.鈥� 

C-author Dr Amelia Parchment from 黑料网吃瓜爆料 said: 鈥淭his was such an interesting study to work on and highlights that body-weight perceptions are shaped early on in life and continue into adulthood. Our findings have important implications, including the potential impact of unrealistic body weights, typically seen in visual media, on the lifelong body weight perceptions of children as young as 7-years old. 鈥�

Professor Boothroyd鈥檚 team at Durham has previously shown that adults鈥� ideas about what is an 鈥榓ttractive鈥� body weight or muscle mass are affected by visual experience. This includes the effect of television access on body perceptions among remote communities in Latin America and, in a separate study, finding that White Western women have lower body appreciation and experience greater pressure from the media to be thin compared to Black Nigerian and Chinese women across all ages.

Looking ahead, the team is now investigating how best to address body image concerns in young adults across the globe in a major 拢2 million (鈧�2.5M) research project and developing novel play-based techniques to investigate children鈥檚 understandings of body weight and body ideals from a younger age.

Professor Boothroyd added: 鈥淩esearchers often assume that children鈥檚 body perceptions and their ideas about body image work the same way as adults. We鈥檝e shown that that鈥檚 true, down to seven years, for basic perceptual impacts on body weight perception. But there鈥檚 more to explore in how that converts into their own body image and their own feelings about weight.鈥�

This new study included data gathered during the University鈥檚 鈥楯unior Scientist鈥� event, which actively involves families from the local communities around Durham, UK, in various research and educational activities.

Additionally, the research involved stimuli provided by Northumbria University and contributions from a Post-doctoral Research Associate at the University of 黑料网吃瓜爆料.