Media can begin to play a role in forming ones body image from a young age through television, toys, movies, and magazines. Both girls and boys are being exposed to ideal body images as early as ages five though seven. Many individuals become so obsessed with the idea of a perfect body image that it sometimes leads into treacherous extents such as physiological disorders. According to the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA; 2006), 10 million females suffer from eating disorders, and among adolescent girls, eating disorders are the third most common chronic illness (Massey-Stokes, 2000). Body image can also effect what men and women look for in their partner.
The article is constructed with teenagers, role models and celebrities to communicate effectively with teenage girls. It contains simplified terminology and information in comparison to “Medicine Today” which is constructed differently to communicate effectively with the target audience. “The Big Issue” is constructed to grab a teenage girls attention to explain about the health issue of overweight teenage girls. Countless teenage girls are affected by obesity, therefore steps need to be taken to prevent this psychological and physical health
However, there is research to suggest that the media’s image of beauty is absolutely unrealistic and could cause harm to men and women’s confidence. Eating disorders have become more common than ever before. Weight loss plans and dieting schemes have become a part of almost everyone’s lives. This is because magazine, television shows, and movies portray beauty as “thin and underfed” in the word of Jennifer Lawrence. The Global Foundation of Eating Disorders states the fact that “eating disorders affect more than three times as many people as Type 1 Diabetes and nearly as many people as asthma” and that “one in ten people will suffer from an eating disorder at some point in their lives” (GFED 6).
According to Webster’s Dictionary anorexia nervosa is defined as an eating disorder, marked by an extreme fear of becoming overweight, that leads to excessive dieting to the point of severe ill health and sometimes death. Thirty percent of women chose an ideal body shape that is 20% underweight and an additional 44% chose an ideal body shape 10% underweight according to raderprograms.com. Over the years, the number of harmful dieting cases has hit an all time high among females and media has played a huge role in contributing to this plague. When walking into a store magazines show ultra thin models on the cover advertising improved diets and showing off their “flawless” bodies. Magazines contain all of the latest looks and images that every young girl wants, but what are the hidden secrets?
The focus of this research was to see what caused girls to be so pressured into being really thin or why some girls were anorexic. In my research, I learned the media plays a big part in why girls go to the extreme to be thin. Major points I learned is that the media targets teen girls with photo-shopped images of models. There are positive effects of media, I think otherwise. When girls see these “models” they feel no matter how it takes to get there, they have to be like these models.
guilt and insecurity (Stice, Schupak-Neuberg, Shaw, & Stein, 1994). Body image dissatisfaction and concern about weight gain and body shape are some of the symptoms related to anorexia and bulimia nervosa. It has been estimated that the prevalence rate for eating disorders is 3% to 10% for females between the ages 15 to 29. For men though, the prevalence rate is 0.02% to 0.03% (Polivy & Herman, 2002). In order to answer the question of how magazines can contribute to the development of a negative body image leading to eating disorders the essay examines several theories that have attempted to describe the ways media (magazines) influence the development of a negative body image which is related to eating disorders.
Psychological explanations for Anorexia One psychological explanation for Anorexia Nervosa (AN) are cultural ideas. It is a widely held belief that western standards of attractiveness are an important contributory factor to the development of AN. Numerous studies have found reported that many teenagers, especially girls are dissatisfied with their body image. The National diet and nutrition survey found that 16% of 15-18 year old girls were currently on a diet. Challenge for this explanation is found by Hoek et al who set out to test the view that AN is rare in non-western countries.
Gender differences in body image are the focus of much social science research, which consistently shows that compared with men and boys, women and girls are more susceptible to poor body images and the problems associated with a poor self-image. Women are far more likely to be diagnosed with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. These are harmful, often life-threatening, diseases leading women to cause serious damage to their digestive and central nervous systems by extreme dieting and eating behaviors. Although men and boys are also diagnosed with eating disorders, the statistics show women and girls are at much greater risk. Some
Selena Flowers English 1302 10 May 2010 Teenage Girls in America – Beautiful or Not? The majority of the media characteristically exhibits reverence towards delicate, ultra-thin female models – a highly glamorized fallacy that continues to deceive and contaminate a large number of teenagers around the world. The majority of adolescents around the globe are far from the standards set by the media. Although parents strive to persuade their children that beauty is only skin deep, many, if not all, teenagers are acutely aware of the resounding magnitude that physical appearance emanates amongst their peers. In an attempt to meet this idolized intangible criteria, numerous teens turn to some form of dieting which usually evolves into an eating disorder, along with illegal drug use, excessive tanning and even plastic surgery to feel comfortable with their appearance.
In addition, overweight and obese people are portrayed in a negative way in the media, including television and movies. Sociocultural influences on body image can lead to eating disorders, such as anorexia, bulimia and even obesity if an overweight viewer does not feel that she or he are living up to the culturally desirable image. The end result is a serious psychological as well as health issue. While obesity among adults has doubled since 1980, overweight among adolescents has tripled. The United States Office of the Surgeon General (2001)