A picture of Jiang Qinqin.

Research now shows a supermodel figure or the "ideal" thin woman image reflected in magazine advertisements trigger young women, obsessed¹ with their own body image, to eat more. Interestingly, those with a more balanced healthy body image tend to eat less.

The study done in Australia is important in bringing out the point that advertising² not only affects the way we think but also our patterns of eating behavior.

Fiona Monro, graduate student at the University of New South Wales, explains the results of the study published in the November edition of the journal, Eating Behaviors: "We would expect people who value the way they look would be reminded by viewing the image and not eat."

"We're not sure why we found the reverse but possibly because of stress...[women obsessed with their appearance] see the idealized image and think about their own body so turn to food," she adds.

Monro says, "They might think 'what's the point, I'm never going to look like that, I may as well eat; or the image makes them think they're thinner than they are so they eat more."

Sixty-eight female university students took part in the study: two hours after their last meal, they were asked to prioritize the importance of physical attractiveness, health and physical fitness to find out whether they give importance to the way their body looks.

Monro and her team were studying the phenomenon of "self-objectification," or the way people perceive themselves and their bodies as an object to be valued for outward show as opposed to intrinsic worth.