Sure, your children may be gaining weight in front of the television. On the plus side, though, they may be shedding stereotypical images of overweight people thanks to more realistic characters offered by programs they watch.
That's because nonanimated sitcoms on children's television networks better reflect the real body weights and types of the U.S. population, and carry more positive messages about characters with above-average weight. The characters of prime-time television, meanwhile, remain cast by thin women and muscled men, which research shows cultivate in children a preference for thinner physiques.
So says a recent study by faculty at Brigham Young University's communications department, which researched 76 episodes from 19 different programs aired during September 2005 on The Disney Channel, Nickelodeon and Discovery Kids. The study examined the number of times characters of different body weights were portrayed, how often they were portrayed among gender and ethnic groups and, perhaps most important, what sort of characteristics were associated with characters who were overweight, of average weight or underweight.
Tom Robinson, BYU Associate professor of communications, and co-authors Mark Callister, associate professor of communication, and graduate student Tahlea Jankoski, found that except for the characteristic of social popularity, the programs' depictions of characters above average weight was surprisingly equitable when compared with characters of average or below average weight.
"The normal stereotypes you'd anticipate seeing don't seem to be present in the children's programs. Overweight kids are shown as very intelligent, and having leadership qualities," Robinson said. "In terms of body weight, parents can know that their children aren't being given heavy doses of the thin ideal. They're seeing a representation on television a lot like any elementary or junior high school they go into."
Robinson cited as an example The Disney Channel program "Drake & Josh," which portrays the heavier Josh as more responsible than his brother Drake. Josh also has a good sense of humor, is the better student and works harder.
Co-author Callister said he and Robinson were drawn to research the issue by prior research demonstrating that children develop stereotypes based on body type at an early age. Given that children also watch a lot of television -- three hours per day on average -- the BYU team felt the portrayal of people of varying body weights in children's programs might be instructive.
"It kind of begged the question of where children get their perceptions," Callister said.
Whether kids will retain the positive images of characters with above average weight is uncertain. Callister suggests that people concerned about maintaining positive attitudes about their own bodies might want to give up prime-time television altogether. "There's clear research showing that, even among the elderly, eating disorders are correlated with media consumption." To see more of The Salt Lake Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.sltrib.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The Salt Lake Tribune Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
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