• Posted August 11, 2026

Barbie And Ken Fade From Fantasy, Offer More Realistic Proportions, Study Finds

Barbie and Ken have come down to earth after years of showcasing impossible blonde bombshell perfection, a new study says.

The body proportions of today’s Barbie and Ken dolls are now much closer to those seen in real everyday people, researchers reported recently in the journal PLOS One.

“Our study found that Barbie and Ken’s body proportions today have become markedly more realistic, with waist-to-hip and chest-to-waist measurements now falling within the normal range for key female body proportions, albeit still below the typical female averages,” lead researcher Sara Grafenauer said in a news release. She’s an associate professor of nutrition and dietetics at the University of New South Wales in Australia.

The new study comes nearly 30 years after a landmark paper revealed that the Barbie and Ken dolls of the late 1990s had body proportions that were nearly unattainable in real life, researchers said.

“Barbie and Ken are among the most recognizable cultural icons globally, and for many children, they’re an early and influential representation of what bodies of adults ‘should’ look like,” Grafenauer said.

But traditional Barbie and Ken dolls have always had unrealistic body shapes that most humans don't have. In fact, the original dolls’ body shapes were so extreme that less than 1 in 10 million people could match their proportions, researchers said.

For the new study, researchers measured the Fashionista line of Barbies, which include Curvy, Tall, Petite and Standard Barbie. They also measured a Ken doll, who is, well, just Ken.

Measurements included head, neck, chest, waist, hip, thigh, mid-thigh, calf, ankle, upper arm, forearm and wrist, researchers said. The team also calculated waist-to-hip, chest-to-waist, chest-to-hip and waist-to-height ratios.

Researchers then compared the measurements from those taken from U.S. adults aged 18 to 35.

Results showed that the toy industry has made measurable progress, with both Barbie and Ken reflecting more realistic proportions and greater body diversity.

“Our study found that Barbie and Ken’s body proportions today have become markedly more realistic, with waist-to-hip and chest-to-waist measurements now falling within the normal range for key female body proportions, albeit still below the typical female averages,” Grafenauer said.

“Interestingly, while Ken’s overall body shape has become more realistic, some proportions — particularly his chest-to-waist ratio remain less representative of the average man,” she noted.

Senior researcher Kevin Norton, who wrote the original 1996 study, said the findings reflect societal changes related to representation.

“The positive changes we’re seeing in Barbie and Ken’s body shapes should provide some reassurance for health professionals and parents choosing these dolls,” Norton, a professor of exercise science at Adelaide University in Australia, said in a news release.

“The greater diversity we’re seeing is a positive step that better reflects the people children see around them every day,” he said.

This diversity helps improve how children see themselves and others, said co-researcher Belinda Durey, an adjunct lecturer at Adelaide University.

“Children’s toys do more than entertain, they help shape perceptions of bodies, health and identity. The more those toys reflect the diversity of real people, the more positive that influence can be,” Durey said in a news release.

“The introduction of multiple body shapes is a positive step. Continued diversification — including variation in size, shape and proportion — can better reflect real populations,” she continued. “There’s no doubt that today’s Barbie and Ken are still stylized, but they’re substantially closer to average human body proportions than earlier generations, and that’s a step in the right direction.”

More information

The Mayo Clinic has more on body positivity.

SOURCE: Adelaide University, news release, Aug. 7, 2026