Body Demographics of Instructors and Demonstrators in Commercial Exercise DVDs

Background/Purpose: Exercise DVDs generate $264.4 million revenue annually; however, beyond people’s receptivity to and interest in exercising at home, and evidence demonstrating the efficacy of non-commercial exercise DVDs, little is known about these products. In this study we describe commercially available exercise DVDs in terms of instructors’ and demonstrators’ body demographic characteristics.

Method: Ten commercially available, contemporary (2011-2014) exercise DVDs promoting moderate to vigorous physical activity were obtained from multiple sources (i.e., internet, personal property, public library). They ranged in duration from 13-86 minutes (M = 42.80, SD = 22.73). Instructors (N = 10) and demonstrators (N= 20) were characterized by their sex, language, race, attire, and body shape and size (i.e., Figure Rating Scale; smallest = 1, largest = 9).

Analysis/Results: There were six female and four male instructors, each accompanied by 0-4 demonstrators (M = 2.00, SD = 1.05). Thirteen demonstrators were female, whereas seven were male. Two instructors had non-English accents, but all instruction was in English. All female instructors were Caucasian. Two male instructors were Caucasian and the others were African American and Latino. Of the female demonstrators, eight were Caucasian, four were African American, and one was Asian American. Of the male demonstrators, six were Caucasian and one was Asian American. The most commonly worn attire by the female instructors was a sports bra (n = 5) and capris tights (n = 3), whereas for males it was a tank top (n = 2) and knee-length baggy shorts (n = 2). The most commonly worn attire by female demonstrators was a sports bra (n = 7) and bootie (low-cut brief spandex) shorts (n = 5), whereas the male demonstrators all wore knee-length baggy shorts and a t-shirt, tank top, or zip-up hoodie (all n = 2). Female instructors (M = 2.75, SD = 0.76) were smaller than males (M = 4.25, SD = 0.96), p = .018, d = 1.79. Likewise, female demonstrators (M = 2.96, SD = 0.82) were smaller than males (M = 3.75, SD = 0.76), p = .037, d = .99. Borderline significant, but large relationships were observed between instructors’ and demonstrators’ sex, χ² (1, N = 20) = 3.81, p = .051, C = .40, and instructors’ sex and demonstrators’ race, χ2 (2, N = 20) = 5.14, p = .076, C= .45.

Conclusions: Commercial exercise DVDs may be perpetuating and reinforcing hyper-sexualized and unrealistic body images to a potentially unsuspecting audience.