Many question why a teen with a normal weight would wish to go on a fad diet. The answer is media. Slim models are the cover on almost every teen magazine, superstars are Photoshopped into thinness, and if a girl isn’t anorexic thin, she is considered to be fat by her peers. Often times, teens also diet because they feel bad about themselves. Most teens who try fad diets feel fat even when they aren’t, have self-esteem issues, and feel as though they have less control over their lives in general.
This is because the models that are shown in magazines today are size double zero. According to the National Eating Disorder Association, 80% of women are dissatisfied with their appearance. Young girls are motivated to do extreme diets by the physical ideals they see every day in the media. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, as many as 10 out of 100 young women suffer from an eating disorder. Young women want to look like the models they see in the media, but most images are modified with special computer effects, so they have no chance of looking like them.
In addition, models has the biggest effect on young americans especially young girls. This is where the obsession becomes serious. Most models are between the sizes of zero and five and young girls often try to emulate that figure. Girls often find models to be impeccable, with their nice shaped bodies and their infallible skin. Boys sometimes feel the same way about male models.
Advertising has been proven to increase eating disorders in women. The average woman model weighs up to 25% less than the typical woman. That is 15-20% below what is considered healthy. This is why the number of people with eating disorders is increasing; this unhealthy weight is becoming “the new normal”. Today 8 million Americans suffer from eating disorders, approximately 90% of them are young women, which is the age group proven to be influenced most by the advertisement of a woman’s body.
On the other hand, bulimia nervosa is characterized by inappropriate weight reducing behavior (vomiting, laxative or diuretic abuse, excessive exercise, fasting) at least twice a week and large uncontrolled binge eating at least twice a week. In spite of this extreme weight loss, people with these eating disorders usually believe they are fat and are terrified of becoming what is in fact a normal weight or shape. Anorexia nervosa most commonly starts in the mid-teens. About one in a hundred 16 to 18 year olds has the illness. It is much more common in girls.
According to Stephanie Berberick, author of the article, “The Objectification of Women in Mass Media: Female Self-Image in Misogynist Culture,” written in the New York Sociologist, “In addition to the 91% of cosmetic surgeries underwent in the U.S. being performed on women, there is also a similarly disturbing trend of females with eating disorders. The National Eating Disorder Association reports that ten million American women are afflicted with Anorexia or Bulimia Nervosa.” Women have always been exploited in the media, but over the past few years, it seems to have gotten even worse. The numbers of plastic surgeries and cases of eating disorders have increased, and it is not a coincidence that the intensity of exploitation of women has increased as well. Women are being told how to act, when to wear make-up and how their bodies should look. How are women being
Poorly Obese Wanavia T. Wilson University of Phoenix Instructor: Lisa Hunt Poorly Obese Obesity has become all too common, even though most people know being obese is a very serious health concern that can lead to diseases like cardio vascular disease, strokes, and type 2 diabetes. The problem is many people cannot afford to eat healthy, and they do not exercise. In the article “Poverty and Obesity in the U.S.”, by James A. Levin; he speaks about obesity being higher amongst impoverished communities. I would have to agree with his point of view, because I have seen it, first hand, being raised in one of these communities. People buy what is affordable over what is healthy, because they live on a strict budget.
Anorexia is a very large issue that society faces today. This eating disorder is harmful to one’s health, and may even lead to death. Teenage girls should not be led by appearances and actions of celebrities to appear a certain way in order to be accepted in their schools because in the past ten years, the number of cases of anorexia in teenage girls has more than tripled in the United States. This problem needs to be solved in order to better the lives of teenage girls and increase their self esteem. The anatomy of a fashion model is vastly different from an average woman.
“More than 1,700 college students in the U.S. are killed each year—about 4.65 a day—as a result of alcohol-related injuries” (The Marin Institute). With a number as high as this, lowering the drinking age would only increase this ongoing problem of underage drinking. It has even been proven by the Marin Institute to be the leading cause of death among teenagers. Many adults feel as if the 18 to 21 age groups cannot handle drinking responsibly, then they should not be permitted to use it. Alcohol is a very serious depressant and one of the leading problems for death (Hanson, 2007).
This can lead to many eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, over eating and bulimia. These are very serious eating disorders which are usually caused by body image problems. They feel that they need to be thin to be accepted in the society. The media puts so much pressure on the society to be thin that