Does this number make me look fat?

Key takeawaysFootball players sometimes choose jerseys with lower numbers thinking that they ’ll look slimmer and faster. There’s a scientific basis for that belief, according to a new UCLA study.In two experiments, volunteers consistently said that images of players in jerseys numbered 10 to 19 looked thinner than players in jerseys numbered 80 to 89, even when the bodies were the same size.The finding suggests that people ’s previously learned associations between numbers and sizes influence their perceptions of body size.In 2019,  an ESPN report explored the reasons so many football wide receivers prefer to wear jersey numbers between 10 and 19. The story found that many of the athletes simply believed the lower numbers made them look faster and slimmer than the higher numbers traditionally assigned to their position.Ladan Shams, a UCLA professor of psychology and neuroscience, was quoted in the story and offered a psychological explanation for the phenomenon. But she emphasized that there was no scientific research on the topic.Now there is.A new UCLA study published in the journal PLOS One reveals that those wide receivers were onto something.In two experiments, subjects consistently said that images of players in jerseys numbered from 10 to 19 looked thinner than those in jerseys numbered from 80 to 89, even when the body sizes were the same. The finding suggests that previously learned statistical associations between numbers and sizes influence the perception...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news