Publicizing female athletes' weights: implications for female psychology undergraduates acting as spectators

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of including female athletes' weights in athletic event programs on female spectators' body image, eating disorder symptoms, self-esteem, and affective state and to investigate whether the magnitude of the athletes' reported weights had differential effects on female spectators (i.e., do female spectators who view heavier athletes respond differently than those who view less heavy athletes?).

We used an experimental design to examine hypotheses derived from competing theories to determine whether exposure to female athletes of varying weight would adversely or beneficially impact female undergraduates (N = 152) who served as athletic event spectators.

Analyses indicated that in this simulated study, female spectators' body image, eating disorder symptoms, self-esteem, and affective states were not impacted by the presence or by the magnitude of female athletes' weights in athletic event programs.

The results imply that including athletes' weights in game-day programs at women's athletic events does not affect female spectators on an individual level.