The recent Protein World ‘Beach Body’ advert – which was defaced on a mass scale, banned by the UK advertising watchdog and the subject of a campaign on Change.org – raises interesting issues.
Although the model is enviably – and unattainably for many – slim, she’s essentially healthy and toned. This in contrast to the waiflike, sickly-looking model in the controversial Yves St Laurent advert, which came out around the same time, who looked like she’d just collapsed.
Critics claimed the Beach Body ad was sexist and fat-shaming, presenting an unrealistic image of women’s bodies. However, although the ad was eventually banned, this was over concerns about the health and weight loss claims made, and last month the ASA ruled that the advert was not offensive or irresponsible.
Adverts on the London Underground were defaced with messages like: “Yes, everyone is beach body ready”, while spoof ads quickly sprung up using ‘real women’ models. However, with new figures predicting that almost three-quarters of British men and two-thirds of women will be obese or overweight by 2030, are we right to keep accepting excess weight as the norm? We’re talking health here, not appearance.
The UK has one of the worst rates of obesity in Europe, which directly costs the NHS £6bn a year. With more people becoming overweight, are we getting a warped view of normal? We’re adjusting to our increased size with bigger beds, bigger clothes, bigger car seats and portion sizes, but is adjusting to being bigger, and urging acceptance of it, glossing over the fact that we have a very serious problem? Obesity and inactivity could bring down the NHS. Children could die before their parents.
On the flipside, Protein World claims the ad drove US$1m of direct sales. But just because this approach has been shown to work, is it appropriate to use it?
What can the fitness industry learn from this debacle? How can we help ease the problem, having conversations about body shape without causing offence? We ask the experts....
Is this a healthy role model or is it fat shaming? Email us [email protected]