Playing With Thin Dolls Could Lead to Body Image Issues in Young Girls

Research suggests that playing with thin dolls could make young girls want a thinner body.

A small-scale study from the UK shows that playing with ultra-thin dolls may negatively affect girls' body image as young as five years old, making them want a thinner body.

Widely available dolls usually tend to have ultra-thin bodies with an estimated BMI between 10 and 16, which is classed as underweight.

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‘Playing with thin dolls could make young girls want a thinner body.’
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For the study, 30 girls aged 5 to 9 years played with an ultra-thin doll, a realistic childlike doll, or a car. The realistic dolls were comparatively neutral for girls' body ideals and resembled healthy 7 and 9-year old children.

The girls were then questioned on their perceived actual body size, ideal body size, and ideal adult body size with an interactive computer test using pictures before and after each play session. They were asked to change the body size of the girl in a picture to what they thought they looked like, what they'd like to look like and what they thought a beautiful woman looks like.

Findings revealed that playing with the ultra-thin dolls reduced girls' perception of an ideal body size immediately after play. There was no improvement seen even when they played with the childlike dolls or cars later on. This shows that the effects cannot be immediately counteracted with other toys.

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The researchers stress that the dolls, along with exposure to 'thin ideals' in films, on TV, and social media, can cause body dissatisfaction in young girls. Body image issues have been known to play a role in the development of eating disorders.

Lynda Boothroyd, lead author, said, "Body dissatisfaction is a huge problem, particularly amongst young girls. It can have serious consequences for girls' wellbeing and lead to eating disorders and depression.”

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She adds that it is important to address this issue to reduce the pressure on girls and women to have a thin ideal body.

In a previous study, psychologists found that the more TV we watch, the more we prefer thinner female bodies.

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80% of the participants of this study had access to ultra-thin dolls either at home or with friends, and almost all of them watched Disney and related films, which tend to show skinny female bodies.

Dr. Elizabeth Evans, co-author, explains that the study does not intend to make parents feel guilty about what their child plays with or to suggest that ultra-thin dolls are bad.

"What our study provides is useful information that parents can take into account when making decisions about toys. Ultra-thin dolls are part of a bigger picture of body pressures that young children experience, and awareness of these pressures is really important to help support and encourage positive body image in our children," she adds.

Professor Martin Tovee, co-author, said, "Our study shows how the perception of ideal body size and shape is molded from our earliest years to expect unrealistic ideals. This creates an inevitable body image dissatisfaction which is already known to lead towards disordered eating."

Source-Medindia