The Media's Role

The majority of images portrayed in the media that have created the “ideal” body shape and size are far from the average body of an American woman. This has created an unrealistic set of standards for women that has contributed to unhealthy thought patterns that often lead to extreme dieting and eating disorders. 

The following video demonstrates how skewed our society's perception of beauty can be.

It seems as though Photoshop is the only thing powerful enough to create "true beauty." The changes made to normal women to bring them up to "model status" is distorting the perception of beauty in girls and women. Everyone is striving to be perfect just like the models that don't even exist! And not only does the media influence the way women see themselves, but it also influences the way men see women (Harrison & Cantor, 1997).

According to the Anxiety & Stress Management Institute, “The fear of being fat is so overwhelming that young girls have indicated in surveys that they are more afraid of becoming fat than they are of cancer, nuclear war, or losing their parents” (n.d.).

The pressure for thinness and physical perfection is instilled in the minds of girls at very early ages. For some, that pressure will play a role in the development of an eating disorder later on in life.

According to the National Eating Disorders Association:

• Over one-half of teenage girls and nearly one-third of teenage boys use unhealthy weight control behaviors such as skipping meals, fasting, smoking cigarettes, vomiting, and taking laxatives
• 81% of 10 year olds are afraid of being fat (Mellin et al., 1991).
• The average American woman is 5’4” tall and weighs 140 pounds. The average American model is 5’11” tall and weighs 117 pounds.
• Most fashion models are thinner than 98% of American women (Smolak, 1996).
• 46% of 9-11 year-olds are “sometimes” or “very often” on diets, and 82% of their families are “sometimes” or “very often” on diets (Gustafson-Larson & Terry, 1992).
• 91% of women recently surveyed on a college campus had attempted to control their weight through dieting, 22% dieted “often” or “always” (Kurth et al., 1995).
• 95% of all dieters will regain their lost weight in 1-5 years (Grodstein, et al., 1996).
• 35% of “normal dieters” progress to pathological dieting. Of those, 20-25% progress to partial or full syndrome eating disorders (Shisslak & Crago, 1995).
• 25% of American men and 45% of American women are on a diet on any given day (Smolak, 1996). 

• The American Psychological Association estimates that about 5 million Americans have a diagnosable eating disorder (Smith, n.d.). 

Although there are factors that contribute to eating disorders other than the media, I chose to focus my blog on the media because it does play a significant role in their development. People diet because of the message that is put out every day by the media that "thinness is happiness." Many move from one failing diet to another, causing more stress and reinforcing that message! We need to work on promoting optimum health as a society, not optimum size.