Plus-size fashion may be fuelling obesity epidemic
‘Seeing the potential of the market, retailers may have contributed to the normalisation of being overweight’
THE normalisation of plus-size clothing and overweight models could be fuelling the obesity epidemic, because it leads people to underestimate their own weight, a study has shown.
The plus-size movement may help promote body positivity, but it is having the unintentional consequence of people believing they are a healthy weight, researchers claim.
Sociologists from the University of East Anglia said it could undermine efforts to tackle the obesity epidemic, which has left more than three in five Britons overweight or obese.
Many companies now have plussized ranges, including Marks & Spencer’s Curve, which caters for women sized between 18 and 32. Plus-sized models such as Ashley Graham are now featured regularly on fashion magazine covers and in advertising campaigns.
Dr Raya Muttarak, an associate professor at the University of East Anglia, said: “By introducing a new design and styling tailored for plus-size customers and using carefully selected fabrics complementing fuller figures, Curve primarily contributes to promoting body positivity.
“While this type of body-positive movement helps reduce stigmatisation of larger-sized bodies, it can under- mine the recognition of being overweight and its health consequences.”
The study, published in the journal Obesity, warned that weight misperception had increased in England.
An analysis of almost 23,460 people who were overweight or obese found that, between 1997 and 2015, the proportion who underestimated their weight had risen from 48.4 per cent to 57.9 per cent in men and 24.5 per cent to 30.6 per cent in women.
Dr Muttarak added: “Seeing the huge potential of the fuller-sized fashion market, retailers may have contributed to the normalisation of being overweight and obese.
“The increase in weight misperception in England is alarming and possibly a result of this normalisation.”
The study found that men, the poor and the uneducated were more likely to underestimate their weight status and so less likely to try to lose weight.
Members of minority ethnic groups were more likely to underestimate their weight than the white population, but more likely to go on a diet.
Overall, those underestimating their weight were 85 per cent less likely to try to lose weight compared with people who accurately identified their weight status.
The study used data from the annual Health Survey for England, which contains a question on weight perception. It focused on respondents with a BMI of 25 or higher. About two thirds were classified as being overweight and one third as obese. Researchers pooled data from 1997, 1998, 2002, 2014 and 2015 to assess trends in self-perception of weight status.
The proportion underestimating their weight status was higher among overweight individuals compared with those with obesity (40.8 per cent compared with 8.4 per cent).
Consequently, only about half of overweight individuals were trying to lose weight, compared with more than two thirds of people with obesity.
A Marks & Spencer spokesman said: “We’re committed to offering great choices across all our ranges. Curve is a unique collection our design team developed with insights from thousands of customers in response to the increasing desire for stylish pieces to fit and flatter fuller figures.”