Body norms, body image, and media in a market-integrating indigenous population in Argentina: A mixed-methods investigation

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between media, body norms, and body image among the Qom, a market-integrating indigenous population in Argentina that has historically idealized larger body sizes.

Media exposure was not significantly associated with perceptions of the “healthiest” or most “ideal” body sizes, nor body dissatisfaction. Men and women perceived categorically “middle-range” body sizes as both healthy and ideal, differing from a similar study in 2010, where larger bodies were favored. Interviews revealed that: media is not recognized as affecting body norms and body image, but is conceptually associated with cultural loss (Theme 1); a “dual stigma” of fatness and thinness is perpetuated by peers, family, and healthcare providers (Theme 2); and body acceptance is highly valued (Theme 3).