Risk and protective factors for eating, weight, and body image problems
What are ways media and our society can contribute to eating, weight and body image concerns?
- 42% of 6-9 year old girls want to be thinner in the U.S.*
- 80% of women in the U.S. are dissatisfied with their appearance*
- 50% of girls ages 12-14 are unhappy because they "feel fat."*
- 25% of men and 45% of women are dieting on any given day in the U.S.*
*From 2003-2005 National Eating Disorders Association: www.NationalEatingDisorders.org - Seventeen magazine has the largest percentage of pages devoted to appearance-related articles
- Thinness, sexuality, and objectified female (and sometimes male) bodies sell products and services.
- Women's magazines have 10x more dieting and weight loss articles than men's magazines. However the leaner and more muscular man is more prominent. (Tantillo, 2008).
- We live in a culture that objectifies us, values thinness, and socializes us to value ourselves from the outside in
- Teens compare themselves to other peers and make adjustments to fit in - or, if they don't, they feel like outcasts.
- We are taught to equate thinness with success, control and beauty.
- Overweight is stigmatized.
- Most fashion models are thinner than 98% of American women (Smolak, 1996).
- Boys also gain weight but gain less fat during puberty. They are more concerned about bulking up because our culture teaches them that masculinity means muscularity.
- Television impacts eating, weight and body image problems:
-As Fiji high school girls watched more TV they increased their vomiting, unhealthy weight control behaviors, and eating pathology (Becker, 2002)
-Teen girls watch 18 hours of TV or videos in a week. Teen boys watch 20 hours of TV or videos in a week. (Neumark-Sztainer, 2005)
-Time spent watching TV at baseline predicted increase in disordered eating at one-year follow-up for teen girls. (Harrison & Hefner, 2006)
