263 - Snatched: An Analysis of Body Image Portrayal by Youth Fashion Brands

Publication Number: 3253.263

Grace Cason, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Uniondale, NY, United States; Julian Franco Jr, Northwell Health, West Babylon, NY, United States; Grace Liberatore, Northwell Health, Pelham, NY, United States; Joseph Mekhail, Northwell Health, New York, NY, United States; Ruth Milanaik, Northwell Health, Great Neck, NY, United States

Background: The portrayal of bodies in fashion advertising has long been a concern, intensified by digital editing. Adolescents adopted the term "snatched" to describe a waist that narrows to a thin, hourglass shape. Exposure to highly edited, narrow-waist imagery has been linked to body dissatisfaction among adolescent girls. Shein, Temu, and American Eagle (AE) are popular fashion brands targeted toward teens, whereas Target, Walmart, and Kohl's target a broader audience.

Objective: To examine differences in waist ratios between adolescent-focused and non-adolescent-focused brands to determine whether adolescents are more often exposed to exaggerated hourglass figures.

Design/Methods: 90 images were collected from six fashion brands: Shein, Temu, AE, Target, Walmart, and Kohl's. 15 images were collected from each brand, including 3 tank tops, 3 other shirts, 3 dresses, 3 bikinis, and 3 leggings (Figure 1). Coders selected form-fitting, unobscured outfits from the top-left of each website, avoiding repeats of models or clothing articles. The following data were gathered: waist-to-hip ratio, waist-to-shoulder ratio, waist-profile-to-gluteal-profile ratio, clothing price, and price discount. Shoulder width was defined as the distance between the outermost points of the shoulders; waist width as the narrowest torso section; waist profile width as the narrowest torso profile; hip width as the widest pelvic section; and gluteal profile width as the distance from the outermost glute to the front of the leg. Measurements were taken using ImageJ.

Results: The mean waist-to-hip ratio was 0.715, with Shein (0.694) and Temu (0.691) below the mean, while AE, Target, Walmart, and Kohl's had higher ratios, ranging from 0.717 to 0.736 (Figure 2). The mean waist-to-shoulder ratio was 0.633, with Shein (0.610) and Temu (0.626) below the mean. The mean waist-profile-to-gluteal-profile ratio was 0.782, with lower ratios in Shein, Temu, and AE, ranging from 0.682 to 0.741. A two-tailed t-test found differences between adolescent-focused brands and non-adolescent-focused brands for waist-to-hip ratios (p=.034) and waist-profile-to-gluteal-profile ratios (p=.001).

Conclusion(s): Adolescent-focused brands, especially online-only ones like Shein and Temu, may perpetuate unrealistic body standards, with waist-to-hip, waist-to-shoulder, and waist-profile-to-gluteal-profile ratios consistently below the overall mean. These exaggerated proportions are likely enabled by photo editing and could become more common with generative AI. Pediatric clinicians should discuss the unrealistic body standards promoted by adolescent brands with their patients.

Figure 1.
Examples of clothing advertisements organized by fashion brand and article category.

Figure 2.
Average ratios, price, and percentage discount organized by fashion brand and then grouped into adolescent focused and non-adolescent focused categories.