"In their 2001 study, Thomsen, et al. found that girls who are frequent readers of health and fitness magazines are more likely to use risky, unhealthy diet practices."
I would agree with the findings of the researcher's work in this study. I remember being a teen and in my early twenties thinking that I was fat and always trying to lose weight. I would buy magazines with the magic diet and exercise plan and tried just about every one. The fact is that I wasn't fat or anywhere near overweight, I was about 110 pounds at that time. Using these magazines, I may have lost a pound or two here and there, but when there is not much to lose I guess that is why the process didn't really work. Even now being older, not 110 pounds, and maybe a little wiser, I still find myself looking over the magazine headlines and wondering if it will work or not. I don't buy magazine anymore though. After a few dozen stacks with about five pages of actual readable material and another 100 pages of ads, I realized I was wasting my money.
Reference: Sauer, H. & Robles-Pina, R. (2003, Winter). Magazines: what adolescent girls are reading and the way they shape body image. Advancing Women, Retrieved from http://www.advancingwomen.com/awl/winter2003/SAUERR~1.html
The picture I found was linked to an article called "Anorexia is not fashionable" The article basically explained what anorexia was and how those in the fashion industry feel pressured to become thin. I thought that this linked in with the article I read on body image and how young girl's perceive themselves. I think though that the picture says it all and that is what many young girls see when they look in the mirror, although the "fat" girl that is looking back at them is not even fat at all.
Refererence: Scakacs, O. (2010, July 19). Anorexia is not fashionable. Retrieved from http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.metrolic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/anorexia.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.metrolic.com/anorexia-is-not-fashionable-102642/&usg=__J3axaUhYgom6MYSLngg0NgYYAKI=&h=850&w=806&sz=355&hl=en&start=4&sig2=CcPkUts6wYMAdYQl0l_r4w&zoom=1&tbnid=nF8EcaW9BDg4qM:&tbnh=145&tbnw=137&ei=3AR9Tp_hBqPK0AHZmtkH&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dskinny%2Bgirl%2Bthinks%2Bshe%2527s%2Bfat%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26rlz%3D1T4ADFA_enUS412US443%26tbm%3Disch%26prmd%3Divnsb&itbs=1
That picture is so very sad. I would not have thought that girls that read health and fitness magazines would be at risk. You would think that they would be more apt to eat healthy and exercise right.
ReplyDeleteThat picture is so disturbing, but so true. I have dealt with the same issues. I wish magazines would use healthy sized models so that girls of all shapes and sizes can realize they are beautiful the way they are.
ReplyDeletePowerful image! I pick up a gossip magazine every now and then when I get a haircut! I got irritated the last time because there was barley any gossip just really bad advertisements!
ReplyDeleteI have seen this picture years ago, and it still surprises me how people can see themselves like this. It is a psychological disease and I do believe that ads push the perfect body, but family and friends should have more influence. The real problem is why do parents and family not have the influence over their kids that the TV or magazine has?
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