Body as a Process versus Body as an Object: The Consequences of How Larger-Bodied Women Are Portrayed in Health-Related Advertising

Abstract

This research investigates how health-related brands can benefit from the inclusion of larger-bodied women in advertising. Given that larger-bodied women are more representative of the average American consumer than the thin-bodied women typically featured in advertisements, these results have important implications for marketers. Across eight studies, our results show that framing the body as a process rather than as an object in health-related product advertisements that include images of larger-bodied women increases women consumers’ purchase intentions for the advertised product. This effect occurs because women consumers’ perceptions of their own humanness increase after exposure to body as a process versus body as an object messaging. Furthermore, we identify a key boundary condition of this finding at the intersection of gender identity and sexual orientation. Specifically, we find that our results hold among women and gay men, but not among straight men. Our findings support calls for the inclusion of larger-bodied women in health-related advertising, provide practitioners with clear guidelines on how to portray larger-bodied women in health-related advertising, and underscore the importance of featuring diverse individuals who have historically been excluded from advertising in a way that does not negatively impact consumers’ health and welfare or product purchases.