One of the latest fads among the Hollywood elite is know as the "revenge diet." Celebrities like Reese Witherspoon and Kate Hudson are turning to diet and exercise in response to failed relationships; losing up to 2 dress sizes in the process.

"To suggest that there is glamour in women violently manipulating their bodies to 'get revenge' on former flames is a grotesque and damaging argument...There are so many wonderful people trying to fight [the epidemic], but until the media stops glorifying stick women, there's going to be a struggle."

Surveys have found that more than half of girls in grades seven through 12 are trying to lose weight, and have dieted within the past year. Though blame for eating disorders doesn't rest entirely on the media, it does send young girls the wrong message. Source: Times Colonist (Victoria, B.C., Canada)

Labels: celebrities, influences, role_models

Experts say that if dolls like Barbie or the Bratz linewere living, breathing women, their proportions would make them disabled. The dolls have stick-thin arms, waists that are less than half the size of their heads, and disproportionately large breasts.

"Dietitians Association of Australia spokeswoman Tania Ferraretto said the 'unrealistic' body shapes had a 'huge impact' on women, but more so on children. 'If you speak to adults, everyone will say we know it's not realistic... but it has a subliminal impact,' she said."

Though some say children are more influenced by the images of models in magazines, they still agree that Barbie and dolls like her can set unrealistic body image expectations for the little girls who play with them. Source: The Advertiser (Australia)

Labels: influences, media_influences, role_models

In a move that is being praised by the Quebec Health Ministry and others, clothing chain La Maison Simons removed from distribution and destroyed catalogs that featured "stick-thin" models.

"Peter Simons... took full responsibility for the offending catalog, which the Montreal Gazette described as featuring 'twig-thin' models who looked like 'strange stick-insect humans.' Simons said he had failed to 'exercise proper attention, empathy and especially sensitivity and social responsibility.'"

La Maison president Peter Simons received about 200 e-mail complaints about the catalog, which was distributed in newspapers and stores throughout Quebec. Source: The Toronto Star

Labels: media_influences, modeling, role_models

The fashion industry is often named as the primary cause of eating disorders among young women. The super-skinny models, many people claim, set an unobtainable standard that girls are so desperate to achieve that they'll starve themselves. While the environment does play a role, scientists have made some startling discoveries lately that point to genetics as the primary cause for anorexia nervosa.

"Many people diet, they say, and almost everyone is bombarded with pressures to be thin, but only a very few - less than half a percent of all women and a scant number of men - develop anorexia. Experts also point to a long history of anorexia over the centuries, before strikingly thin models became cultural superstars and skinny became the ideal of feminine beauty."

Scientists say that genetic predisposition can account for up to 70 percent of a person's risk for developing an eating disorder. One of the biggest indicators that environment is less of a factor and genetics more is that the prevalence of anorexia has remained steady over the past 30 years, despite increased societal pressures to be thin. Source: The Toronto Star

Labels: body_type, media_influences, role_models

Two years ago, actress Aisha Tyler appeared in a Glamour magazine article titled "I Don't Want To Be Perfect!" which included two pictures of her - one airbrushed and the other un-touched. Since then, she's joined Dove's Self-Esteem Fund where she helps girls across the country learn to love their bodies - no matter the shape or size.

"The best we can do is realize and understand that [fashion model] images are manipulated so we don't get seduced into believing that a 5'11" model who weighs 112 pounds is either realistic or healthy, and also that these ideals of perfection don't even exist for that model, who probably starves herself, is unhealthy because she smokes to stay thin, and needs all that airbrushing and retouching because she has terrible skin and all the other problems that all real, living, breathing women have. Of course, there are obviously some women out there who were just born tall and insanely thin and stay that way naturally. And they have their own problems just like everyone else."

Tyler goes on to say that trends are shifting in the fashion world, as designers realize that most women can't buy a size zero, forty-thousand-dollar suit.

Good therapeutic boarding schools can help teens with academics as well as emotional or behavioral problems. Visit TherapeuticBoardingSchool.com for more information.

Labels: celebrities, influences, role_models

The Bratz line of dolls has four main characters, all girls, who don the latest, sexy fashions and receive almost constant criticism from parents who feel the dolls are too sexy. Several studies have found that over-sexualized images such as these reinforce unhealthy behaviors, like eating disorders, in young girls.

"Criticism was building even before several studies mentioned Bratz dolls by name. This year, the American Psychological Association piled on, citing Bratz in a report that analyzed about 300 studies on the relationship between media images and mental health."

Many parents try, instead, to buy dolls with more wholesome images, like the wildly popular American Girls line.

New Leaf Academy, private middle school for girls, helps struggling girls ages 10-14 with therapy and accredited academics.

Labels: behaviors, influences, role_models

That's the advice Arlene Nugent gives to young girls who think they have to be super-thin to be beautiful. Nugent entered the Miss Northern Ireland beauty pageant in an attempt to "beat down the size zero craze..."

"'...I just want young girls to realize that beauty is all about how you feel about yourself, and that includes being healthy. If you feel comfortable and content with yourself then people can see that as well. I wouldn't change anything about myself. I like my size. I'm so happy and so content and I have never had any problems with it. I like to say to myself "Curves are hot... zero is not."'"

Though Arlene didn't win the pageant, she placed in the final five. She hopes the exposure she gained by entering the Miss Northern Ireland contest will lead to a career in modeling. Read more at BelfastTelegraph.co.uk.

Labels: media_influences, role_models, self-esteem