An Analysis of Thin Body Ideals

As obesity rates continue to rise, societal stigmas against individuals classified as "fat" or "obese" also rise. The topics of obesity, fat stigma, slim body ideals, body dissatisfaction and fat talk are all closely interwoven and are heavily influenced by countless human factors. This project attempts to find cross-cultural patterns in female self-perceptions and body preferences across nine culturally and economically diverse countries using both quantitative and qualitative analyses. The nine different countries included in this study are the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Iceland, Tajikistan, Paraguay, Guatemala, Japan, and South Korea. This study analyzes how satisfied women are with their current size and whether they feel as though they are judged for their size or shape.