- Scientists at Michigan State University found reading the Fifty Shades series could be bad for young women’s health
- Women were more likely to have sex with multiple partners, binge drink, suffer eating disorders and end up in abusive relationships
- Study is the first into the link between health risks and popular fiction depicting violence against women
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A new study has found women who read Fifty Shades of Grey could be putting their health at risk
Reading the erotic novel Fifty Shades Of Grey could be bad for young women’s health, scientists have warned.
The study found women are more likely to have sex with multiple partners, binge drink, suffer eating disorders and have a lover who verbally abuses them.
The research, reported in the Journal of Women’s Health, is among the first to analyse the link between health risks and popular fiction depicting violence against women.
Past research has tied watching violent TV programs to real-life violence and antisocial behaviour,
And a link has been identified between reading glamour magazines and being obsessed with body image.
The latest findings did not distinguish whether women experienced the health behaviours, all known risks for being in an abusive relationship like the Fifty Shades lead character Anastasia, before or after reading the books,
But family expert Professor Amy Bonomi, of Michigan State University, said even so, it is a potential problem either way.
Prof Bonomi said: ‘If women experienced adverse health behaviours such as disordered eating first, reading Fifty Shades might reaffirm those experiences and potentially aggravate related trauma.
‘Likewise, if they read Fifty Shades before experiencing the health behaviours seen in our study, it’s possible the books influenced the onset of these behaviours.’
Professor Bonomi said she recruited more than 650 women aged between 18 and 24 for her study because this was a prime period for exploring greater sexual intimacy in relationships.
Those who read the first novel were 25 per cent more likely to have a partner who yelled or swore at them, 34 per cent more likely to have a partner who demonstrated stalking tendencies and more than 75 per cent more likely to have used diet aids or fasted for more than 24 hours.
And those who read all three in the series were 65 per cent more likely to binge drink, or drink five or more drinks on a single occasion on six or more days a month, and 63 per cent more likely to have had sexual intercourse with at least five men.
Professor Bonomi said she is not suggesting the book be banned.
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