“Plus size” fashion could undermine anti-obesity measures

Study warns normalisation of plus size could defeat public health interventions against obesity

The advent of plus size could normalise obesity, warns new research.

Attempts to reduce stigmatisation of larger body sizes – for example with the launch of plus-size clothing ranges – help promote body positivity. However, the study highlights an unintentional negative consequence that may prevent recognition of the health risks of being overweight.

The study was done by Dr Raya Muttarak, from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), in Austria. It examined the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics associated with underestimation of weight status to reveal social inequalities in patterns of weight misperception.

Analysis of data from almost 23,460 people who are overweight or obese revealed that weight misperception has increased. Men and individuals with lower levels of education and income are more likely to underestimate their weight status and consequently less likely to try to lose weight.

The number of overweight individuals who are misperceiving their weight has increased over time, from 48.4% to 57.9% in men and 24.5% to 30.6% in women

The results, published in the journal Obesity, show that the number of overweight individuals who are misperceiving their weight has increased over time, from 48.4% to 57.9% in men and 24.5% to 30.6% in women between 1997 and 2015. Similarly, among individuals classified as obese, the proportion of men misperceiving their weight in 2015 was almost double that of 1997 (12% vs 6.6%).

The study comes amid growing global concern about rising obesity rates.

Dr Muttarak, a senior lecturer in UEA’s School of International Development, says her findings have important implications for public health policies.

“Seeing the huge potential of the fuller-sized fashion market, retailers may have contributed to the normalisation of being overweight and obese,” said Dr Muttarak. “While this type of body positive movement helps reduce stigmatisation of larger-sized bodies, it can potentially undermine the recognition of being overweight and its health consequences. The increase in weight misperception in England is alarming and possibly a result of this normalisation,” she says.