In a recently published study, researchers show how the bodies of action figures have changed through the years. According to the data, toys like GI Joe and Luke Skywalker have gone from naturalistic body types to bulked-up musclemen.
Dr. Harrison G. Pope, associate professor of psychiatry at the Medical School and author of the study, said he is worried that young boys will aspire to the impossibly muscular bodies of their action figures.
"GI Joe has been getting steadily more muscular over the years... by the 70s he had been putting in substantial time at the gym," he continued.
The report reads that the original GI Joe, if scaled to human height, would have a bicep circumference of about 11 1/2 inches--that of an ordinary man.
But a GI Joe Extreme from 1997 would hace biceps that measure 26 inches, larger than any body builder in history.
"We looked at GI Joe and the Star Wars figures the most," Pope said, because both are made by the same manufacturers and both have been steadily popular over time."
Pope was cautious to draw any absolute conclusions about the toys' effect on children.
Read more in News
HUCTW Issues Open LetterRecommended Articles
-
Pollution in Air Increases Risk Of Early DeathResearchers at the Harvard School of Public Health have concluded that people living in more air-polluted areas have a 15
-
Study Finds Eating Nuts May Reduce Diabetes RiskA popular, high-fat snack could substantially reduce the risk of developing Type II Diabetes, according to a recent study conducted
-
Magnesium-Rich Foods Reduce Diabetes Risk, Study SaysEating foods rich in magnesium can reduce the risk of type two diabetes onset, according to two studies by Harvard
-
Study Finds Benefit In Breast-Feedinghe more a woman breast-feeds, the lower her risk of diabetes, according to a study published last week in the
-
Hormone May Help Fight Diabetes, Research SuggestsResearchers at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute have discovered a hormone which may lead to new treatments for patients afflicted with diabetes.
-
Harvard Researchers Find Potential Clue to Solving Type 1 DiabetesIn a recent study conducted by the Hotamisligil Laboratory at the Harvard School of Public Health, a group of scientists discovered that a naturally occurring molecule called TUDCA, or Tauroursodeoxycholic acid, could prevent Type 1 Diabetes.
