As all eyes turn to Sydney, Australia, for its annual Fashion Festival, organizers are determined to promote health and wellness by using healthier-looking models.

"They really are trying to make steps towards respecting the care and governance of the models they represent. And also they're implementing guidelines around the age and they've stipulated that models must be at least 18 years or older and... models with extraordinarily thin physiques shouldn't be used."

Simon Lock of IMG Fashion believes the industry in Australia is taking very seriously the health of its models, especially in light of an incident last week in which a model was discovered to be only 14 years old. She was barred from Australia's Fashion Week. Source: The World Today (ABC Australia)

Labels: fashion, influences, modeling

A recent study conducted at the University of Denver found that women who have sports anxiety are more likely to experience eating disorder symptoms than women who do not have the anxiety, or aren't involved in competitive sports.

"The study of 274 female college undergraduates examined whether differences in eating disorder symptoms exist between women depending on the level of their athletic-exercise activities. The participants also completed questionnaires about attitudes and behaviors related to eating disorders, self esteem and sports anxiety."

Though many eating disorder experts agree that exercise can boost a woman's self-esteem, competitive sports can cause fear and worry about performance, thus driving women to overcompensate for their anxiety through eating disorders and other unhealthy behaviors.

Read more: Compulsive Exercisers and the
Female Athlete Triad

Labels: anxiety, body_image, sports

The unrealistic standards of "beauty" that have been perpetuated by Hollywood and the media are part of what prompted Dove to create two programs: The Dove Self-Esteem Fund (DSEF) and the Campaign for Real Beauty. Dove's goal is to reach five million girls by 2010, and thus far the campaigns are almost halfway there.

"Through DSEF, Dove, along with the Girl Scouts of the USA, conduct self-esteem workshops and after school events for girls ages eight through 17. At these programs, girls participate in at least an hour-long educational program that teaches each of them about a positive self-image."

The workshops are partially funded through profits from the sale of Dove products. The Campaign for Real Beauty includes not only TV commercials, but on-line videos that show how images of models are manipulated to make them look "perfect". Source: The East Carolinian

Labels: media_influences, self-esteem, self-image_issues