The Negative Impact of Skinny Fashion models
Research Department – World Faculty

Taro Kyoudai

Abstract: Fashion model in Japan tends to be too skinny, which is considered to have negative influence especially on female students. In order to evaluate the influence, a questionnaire that targets female college students about the self-awareness of obesity and consciousness of admiration of other’s bodies was conducted. This questionnaire showed that, female students have a strong the tendency to consider BMI value 18 as a judgment standard of obesity, and they are highly conscious of adiposity as well as remarkably envious of other’s bodies. BMI value 18 is a number that is regulated by the international fashion industry. The BMI values of Japanese models were sampled and the results shows they fall within 18, which reveals that female college students is much influenced by fashion models.

Key Words: BMI, obesity awareness

1．Introduction

It is conveyed that there are some wrong information among the juveniles who are interested in their physical beauty or losing weights, which is suggested by extremely skinny fashion models. Therefore, the debate over skinny models is going on around the world. ‘Fashion models’ wear famous brands’ clothes and appear on advertisements or fashion magazines as the icon of the brand, and sometimes they walk on the fashion shows. They have to keep their skinny styles. This has young people under the influence.

Nakamura[1] proved the relation between changing stages models and the consciousness among the girls who are on diet. Changing stage model is created and suggested by Nakamura and today many researchers this. The result says that unhealthy diet loses their consciousness of how the diet is going on.

In November 2006, a Spanish fashion model died of anorexia. This was the trigger for an exposure of other models’ death like her. It is learned that being skinny is not healthy. In December, Spanish government decided to prohibit a model whose BMI（Body Mass Index）is under 18 from appearing on the fashion show’s stage. Following Spanish, Italy and Australia established the standard BMI of the models. However, it is difficult to pursue it because of the feature of this occupation. Fashion Institute of America said that they would not pursue this policy. The policy varies from country to country. In this paper, I want to search how the BMI number 18 affects the thoughts of general women.

2．Research Method

I examined Japanese models’ BMI with information available.BMI（Body Mass Index）is calculated from the relationship between weight and height. It is used as an index that represents the degree of human obesity. The calculation method is below:

/ (1)

In this equation , t [m] is the height、w [kg] is the body weight. According to the Japan Society of Obesity, a BMI value of 22 represents the standard weight. A value over 25 means obesity and that less than 18.5 means thinness.

The following public information is used during the research.

Survey(i)：A questionnaire for university students about self-consciousness of obesity was conducted. The targets of this questionnaire are female university students. Moreover, BMI values were also collected in order to find out the relationship between it and self-consciousness about the obesity. The following two items are surveyed.

1． Do you think you are fat?

2． Are you jealous of skinny people?

The sample size of the survey was 33 based on the investigation which was carried out twice in April 2007 and April 2005.

Survey（ii）： The height and weight of 30 fashion models aged between 15 and 33 who based their activities in Japan, are collected and corresponding BMI was used in this paper.

3．Results

The result of the survey(i) shows that although the BMIs of the students are under 25, which the Japanese Society for the Study of Obesity classifies as normal-weight or underweight, most of them tend to think that they are obese. 64% of the students, whose BMI are under 25, regard themselves as obese. Among them, 12.5% of the underweight students and 75% of the normal weight share the same idea. When the criterion of BMI is reset at 18, their consciousness of obesity is stronger than on the criterion of the Japanese Society for the Study of Obesity. 77.8% of the students consider themselves obese when their BMIs are over 18. However, none of them does when their BMIS are under 18. This tendency can be applied to the survey on female students think about others' figures. 70.4% of the students under 25 of BMI feel jealous-, on the other hand, 85.2% of those over 18 and 16.7% under 18 feel so.

Table 2 Survey (ii) Height , weight and BMI index of models

The result of survey (ii) shows that the BMIs of the models are between 16 and 18.The mean value and the standard variation are xxx. There is a fairly strong correlation between height and weight (coefficient: R=0.8509), which explains that both have a very similar tendency. Figure 1 is a comparison between the regressive line of the height and the weight based on the data and the line that represents the height/weight correlation when BMI is fixed at 18. It is shown that both lines are almost parallel and their BMIs are under 18.

Figure 1 Relative relation of height and weight

4．Discussion

May be there is an ambiguous ideal number of the BMI that was set up by the fashion leaders. Today, we can see more and more models on the mass media. The students see their well-made figures, heights and their weights. They also tend to think whether they themselves are apart from the average of the models’ style or not and strongly feel envious of the others. Let us see（2）.Among the fashion industry, such standard BMI is supposedly about under18 which is set up by those models leading the trend. If there is any certain standard of BMI, it might be unannounced and by tacit agreement. But the research (1) obviously says that the students think less than 18 is the ideal BMI number.

I think those people like the models must try to tell something about the bad influence of being too slender. As Japan Obesity Institute says BMI18 is Low Body Weight. So those young women who have a desire to lose weight are lighter than the average weight. However, they still want to lose weight. When they are physically young, their ability to decide which information is correct and which is not is also still developing. So, I am afraid of them driven to try to lose weight in wrong and dangerous way which might cause some troubleｓ both physically and mentally.

5．Conclusion

It is revealed that the young people in Japan are under the strong influences of models. I want to find out about something, as the character smoking on a TV drama or the frequency of the TV commercial films of alcohol, that gives influence which in particularly the present day on those people’s sense like that case.

6. References

[1] Nakamura Sapura, Tsutomu Wako, Ikuta Mitiko Keiko Suda, Yasue Satomi. (2001). "Relation of self-efficacy and behavioral changes in diet stage model of female students". pp.64-69..

[2] Shinsuke Kishida. (1998). "Obesity Awareness female students about diet ", pp.1-20