TV Soap Characters `Too Thin' and Damaging for Morale, Says Research

Dobson, Roger, The Independent (London, England)

Overweight men and women are being ignored by TV soaps, say researchers, even though one in four of the population is now classed as obese.

The researchers, who looked at 56 different TV series including Friends, ER and Frasier, also found that one in three of the female characters in the programmes was not just slim but seriously underweight. They also discovered that male television characters are six times more likely to be slim than men in real life.

Now the researchers, from Michigan University in the US, are warning that this lack of prime time representation could lead to discrimination. The few overweight and obese characters on TV have fewer romantic …

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Publication information: Article title: TV Soap Characters `Too Thin' and Damaging for Morale, Says Research. Contributors: Dobson, Roger - Author. Newspaper title: The Independent (London, England). Publication date: October 28, 2001. Page number: 3. © 2009 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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