Is it really the fault of the media (Eating disorders - how are they caused?)

Member Name: feex1982x

Product:	Eating disorders - how are they caused?
Date:	10/11/08 (92 review reads)
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So recently we have heard about Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston again, the stick thin model to have starved herself to death at the age of 21 in the quest for the 'perfect' figure. With a body mass index of just 13.4, (the ideal being 22 and 19 is considered being underweight) she had reached the point where all her organs just could not keep her alive any longer. Surviving on a meagre diet of tomatoes, apples and I imagine a good dose of Marlboro too after being told at various castings she was quite simply 'too fat' and to lose weight.

Some would say with these models nowadays that it's a fate that unfortunately they unknowingly signed themselves up for. They knew the industry and what was entailed and sold themselves to these designers to be coat hangers and to be poked, prodded and obey their every whim. On the other hand many of these young models are innocent young girls aged around 15 (and getting younger unfortunately) that are spotted whilst out in the local park with their mates. They are told they are 'perfect' model material and being so young an naive, who can blame them, it's the stuff dreams are made of at that age. And why do they use such young girls now?? Because they don't have hips, they don't have boobs, they aren't a womanly figure yet, they have a straight figure, up and down, fine, problem is, they don't want them to change from this.

Of course some women are naturally thin, although im not sure that many of them are despite their claims that they eat junk food all the time (??!!). Yes I often lose stones on a diet of takeaways, crisps and chocolate, don't you? But the problem is that its not just a certain group of women that are facing this pressure to be thin, as if we believe the press, we can only be beautiful if we are at least 2 stone underweight. Its our children, our sisters and mothers and more increasingly becoming our sons and brothers that are the victims.

Recent statistics show that Bulimia will affect 1-2% of 15 to 40 year olds, and more staggeringly that Anorexia will occur to 1 in 5 of every 100,000 mostly developing at the ages of 16-17. Boys now are becoming 10% of all cases. 13% of these cases will result in death. These are just the extreme cases, there are so many other women out there that use dangerous methods to lose weight drastically. I know this, I've done it myself and so have many of my friends. Fasting to laxatives, you name it I've done it or known someone to have done it. But why?

My belief is we are sold images of thin, glamorous women that are now size a size zero ( Uk size 4) are you kidding me? Why are we glamorising these women, are they role models for our children?? Certainly not, I cant seem to think of any one of the famous size 0's that has actually any talent and some who really haven't done anything to deserve their fame other than living on the back of someone else's fame. Cant think who im talking about here Nicole Richie.

My obsession with food started when I was about 14 and suddenly food wasn't to be looked at as something to enjoy, it wasn't the social event it should be when you all sit down together for meals. It became dull, looking at what calories everything contained, worrying if I should finish the whole lot or was that too piggish. I became so confused, im being told to eat everything up to make me healthy by my parents, and at the same time im at school and all the girls are seeing if they can pinch an inch and who needs to lose the most to look like our favourite celeb. Where did our childhood go? That was 1996, it seems its become far worse now and every week in the gossip mags is the latest celeb diet craze. Why?? Why publish in a magazine, where most of the readers are 15-16 year old girls that are the most vulnerable according to the statistics.


I have even looked on here before I wrote this and was amazed to find so many sites promoting eating disorders. Users put their pictures of 'thinspiration' which is if you are unsure, is an image they look to, their goal, their ideal. And who are these 'thinspiration' pictures of, yup that's right, the likes of Victoria Beckham, Nicole Richie, Lyndsey Lohan. All images that have been published in magazines. I was astounded that young girls want to develop this killer disease, a disease that if they survive will live with them forever. A disease that if they are able to cure will see them taken from the their families for sometimes months on end, a disease that causes the close family such distress and such guilt. No it is apparently obvious that it is the latest trendy thing to have, an eating disorder, after all if its good enough for the Hollywood stars... .

TV Companies can be to blame, on TMF (The Music Factory) as I have flicked through the channels one evening I have stumbled across the mini series, Extreme: Skinny Celebrities. A whole hour show dedicated to showing the thinnest of the celebrities, what their diet rules are, their gruelling exercise routine and what their weight is along with their BMI. Now I was a little confused, were they trying to say 'look how silly these celebs were' or were they cashing in on the fact that women will watch in earnest, hoping to gain the odd tip to fit into that LBD on the weekend?. And this was not the only programme to advertise itself as being a message to young girls that extreme dieting is dangerous. Dawn Porter recorded a programme Super Slim Me, which watched her try to go from a size 12 to a zero in a matter of weeks. Louise Redknapp produced a similar programme The Truth About Size 0. I watched both of these like a zombie, suckered in totally, and you know what, I came out of it with more tips and tricks I could have dreamed of. Was that their aim? Quite clearly they are telling me its bad, bad, bad don't do it. Which made me think, is this just something that is very deep seated within me? Am I just fascinated with weight and calories due to a totally different reason in my subconscious. And if I am this way, how many other women are the same and media just gives us that fix we need and so we keep craving more and have someone to blame it on. The only programme that actually shocked me to the core was 'Dana, The 8 year old Anorexic' I watched the whole thing feeling so desperately sad for her and her family. What kind of life can that little girl hope to have? Probably in and out of hospital until maybe she learns to recover or she kills herself. When I was 8 I was playing with dolls or on my bike with my mates, not thinking I was fat and exercising to the point of exhaustion.

Yes its wrong to make these skinny celebs almost goddesses to young girls and something to aspire to, but lets face it. It makes cash, and lots of it. We spend billions on diet products every year because we are too damn lazy to eat less and exercise more, the principle is simple, but everyone wants a quick fix. The media know this, they aren't silly, they know anything regarding weight loss sells, and sells big. So can we really blame these magazines for wanting to do what they can to sell their products? No of course we cant, we all need to make a living. Lets be brutally honest here, we want to see clothes looking fabulous as that's what we want to feel in them, not average, and unfortunately most the time, they only look fabulous on the super skinny, as that is who they were designed to be worn by.

Magazines could stop selling the stories on the celebs that have shed the pounds, and only feature size 12 and above models (despite the UK average being a size 14-16) but I doubt they would shift as many, maybe they would for a while due to the hype, but it would simmer down. Italian designers banned size 0 models from their fashion week, good on them! Only it hasn't really caught on has it? I have one last point which I think could be extremely controversial but with the constant increase in obesity in this country, can we really say it's the media creating this problem, as surely we would be watching our weight like a hawk. All I can say is with this obesity epidemic, is it not such a bad thing to be reminded every now and again that this isn't the norm, and to give some people a kick up the bum?

It's a debate I think will go on forever with no answers and nothing will change, I know that I want my daughter to grow up with a healthy attitude towards food, and I am going to try my best to provide that in the hope that, that alone can prevent any unhealthy attitudes later in life. Meanwhile im afraid I will still spend money on the latest diet book, and watch the Skinny Celebs, I just cant help myself....

Summary: Its something that will never be answered, lets just support those that need it