The impact of diet product ads on women's body image in Lebanon : the case of Nestle's Fitness corn flakes campaign 2014

Abstract

The concept of dieting and staying fit has become a worldwide phenomenon affecting not only women in the first world countries but also in Middle Eastern countries such as Lebanon. Women in Lebanon are striving to maintain the ‘ideal’ weight and diet product companies have promoted the concept of staying thin and have linked it to being physically attractive. The purpose of this research is to show how diet product ads and specifically the case of Nestle Fitness Corn Flakes campaign displayed on television in Lebanon, has had different effects on women aged between 25 and 35 years. The research utilized both qualitative methods such as interviews with experts in psychology, dieting and plastic surgery in addition to the quantitative method which included an online survey about the ad and body image satisfaction, which were sent out to a sample of 100 women in Lebanon between the age of 25 and 35. The results of the research showed that there was a significant relationship between women who wished their bodies resembled the lady in the ad and developing psychological disorders such as depression when unable to lose weight (p=0.052) while there was no significant relationship between TV viewing and body dissatisfaction.