The ideals of slimming vary from country to country. The French are the women who aspire the most in the world to be thin, while for the men, it is the Uruguyens.
The ideal of thinness is stronger among French women than in other countries of the world. Six in ten French women say they want to lose weight, while in the Philippines, they are only three in ten, in Russia four out of ten, according to a survey published by the National Institute of Demographic Studies (INED). In this international comparison between thirteen different countries, only Korean women have such a developed ideal of thinness, but they have an advantage, this ideal of thinness already corresponds to their natural build… The average of their body mass index (BMI) is 21.8 kg / m2 while it is 24 for our compatriots.
6 in 10 French women want to lose weight
These figures come from a study of 20,000 people over the age of 18, living in thirteen countries and four different continents. They answered a questionnaire on weight and height. The novelty is that they also had to indicate their feminine and masculine bodily ideal on a scale made up of two sets of four figures, one for each sex. “What is interesting is to realize that the ideal of corpulence is not the same everywhere,” underlines Thibaut de Saint Pol, sociologist at the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan and co-author of the study. . In France, we have very strong pressure to be thin for women, and much less for men. In Ireland or New Zealand, the ideal of thinness is not highly valued by men and women. France is after South Korea the country where the desire to lose weight is most frequent among women: six in ten French women say they want to lose weight.
Listen to Thibaut de Saint-Pol, sociologist at the Ecole normale supérieure de Cachan and co-author of the study. ” In some countries, such as Korea, the slim figure is highly valued by both men and women ”.
Men also have dreams of being thin. The champions are Uruguyen. 62% of them say they prefer a thin silhouette, or even very thin, but they have efforts to make, their BMI is on average around 26 kg / m2. In France, men are less concerned about their figure. Only 37% say they have an ideal of thinness. Their BMI is around 25 kg / m2. “Unlike French women, ideal build and reality are in agreement with the French,” notes sociologist Thibaut de Saint-Pol. This is noticeable in dietary practices but also in sports halls, when surveys are carried out, the majority of women say that they go there to lose weight, while the majority of men go there to build muscle, to have a healthy lifestyle. certain corpulence. ”
An ideal of thinness that varies according to social class
The ideal of thinness also varies according to the socio-cultural level. “When we try to recommend a diet that is good for health, in favored social circles, the message gets across more easily,” testifies the sociologist, referring to other surveys. In these categories, monitoring the feeding of your child gives the image of being “a good” mother. While in less affluent environments, mothers will take more care of the growth of their child. In addition, food is the area where they will be able to please their children. “
The round woman, a model in history
Why do French women seem so attached to an ideal of thinness? A survey had already shown that women with a normal weight nevertheless wanted to lose 5 kg on average (Ocha / CSA study in 2003) … For the sociologist, there are several possible explanations: the impact of fashion, a desire for control to show its dynamism, particularly in the professional environment, too much internalization of medical standards or the search for the desirable body conveyed by the media… “What our study especially reminds us is that the standards of thinness are evolving, it is possible that in a hundred years or so they will have changed completely, proclaims the sociologist. But he nevertheless recalls that throughout history and civilizations, the feminine ideal remains mainly that of a corpulent woman, with curves associated with those of motherhood.
Listen to Thibaut de Saint-Pol, sociologist at the Ecole normale supérieure de Cachan and co-author of the study. ” The female bodily ideal remains rather that of a plump body, associated with motherhood. “
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