In today's Western society woman and children are bombarded by what the media feels is the ideal woman image. These images are on the television, billboards, magazines, and everything in between. Insisting that beauty is a tall and slender 5'8" and 110 pounds model who has professionals give her the perfect hair, make-up, and clothes. Which is not ideal for the average woman. In fact the average woman doesn't have professionals to do her hair and makeup on a daily basis and the average adult woman weighs 165 lbs. and is 5'4" with a waist measurement of 37 inches (source: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/bodymeas.htm). This is far more than the images we view everyday through the media.
The body type portrayed in advertising as the ideal is possessed naturally by only 5% of American females.3
- 47% of girls in 5th-12th grade reported wanting to lose weight because of magazine pictures.12
- 69% of girls in 5th-12th grade reported that magazine pictures influenced their idea of a perfect body shape.13
- 42% of 1st-3rd grade girls want to be thinner (Collins, 1991).
- 81% of 10 year olds are afraid of being fat (Mellin et al., 1991).
- 95% of those who have eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25.8
- 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.
- In a survey of 185 female students on a college campus, 58% felt pressure to be
a certain weight, and of the 83% that dieted for weight loss, 44% were of normal
weight.
Sources: http://www.anad.org/get-information/about-eating-disorders/eating-disorders-statistics/ Collins, M.E. (1991). Body figure perceptions and preferences among pre-adolescent children. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 199-208.
Mellin, L., McNutt, S., Hu, Y., Schreiber, G.B., Crawford, P., & Obarzanek, E. (1991). A longitudinal study of the dietary practices of black and white girls 9 and 10 years old at enrollment: The NHLBI growth and health study. Journal of Adolescent Health, 23-37. - Metropolitan State College of Denver is uncovered a higher risk of depression in females with negative self body images due to society's "ideal body image." Source:http://www.mscd.edu/~psychjrn/Vol.1.Issue1/Vol1.Issue1.Hamilton.pdf
These statistics are scary which is why we all must be part of changing the "ideal body image" as well as being positive influences on our youth and promote positive self images for our children. Where do we begin? How do we be successful? That is what this blog is all about.
I agree the stats are very scary! The media is very influential in creating the “ideal size” for a woman, tragically that “ideal size” that the media displays doesn't consider the size and measurement of each unique and individual woman. Furthermore the ones that are impacted the most are our youth who are as you stated, confronted with these images in magazines, billboard, television, etc. This reminds me of one of my husband students that I met. She was tall, beautiful, and very slender. She maintained her thinnest by eating a small 8 oz salad for lunch each day. My husband asked her if that was all that she ate that day and her answer was yes. Apparently she ate small portions to maintain her weight, however she wasn't malnutritioned. Her motive behind eating such a small meal was because of her fear of gaining weight. Considering that she brought lunch from home, one had to assume that her parents were aware of her eating habits. Another issue that is concerning is that extent that some models go to maintain the small frame or “perfect image” that is displayed on the magazines or billboards that is displayed and very influential on our youth. According to Foxnews.com, Kira Dikhtyar, a Russian supermodel discusses some of the extreme method employed by agencies to keep their models thin. "I've heard stories that some modeling agents encourage girls to do speed and cocaine in order to speed up metabolism and eat less. And all kinds of injections are becoming more and more popular, from HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) injections that go with a 500-calorie diet plan to T3 thyroid injections that healthy models inject in an attempt to speed up their thyroid function, which results in a faster metabolism." HCG injections along can cause a condition called ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome, which is fatal in women. And we all know the effects of cocaine and speed on the body and the consequences associated with each. The key to promoting positive self-images is educating the youth on their body. Helping them to understand that every woman in not intended to be the same size or fit into a certain size range. Knowing what is considered healthy for their body type and boosting confidence in having the body type they have will help them to build realistic views of themselves. That’s where the action should begin.
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