Why the Media is to Blame for Eating Disorders

The media consists of all mass communication including newspapers, magazines, direct mail, billboards, radio, television, and the Internet. If you are like most Americans, the many hours you spend with the media shapes what you think of your appearance and how you feel about yourself. That time may even increase the possibility of developing an eating disorder.

Have you ever compared yourself to a celebrity? It's a natural thing to do. Think about the comparison. Did you focus on the celebrity's wit, intelligence, and good nature? Or did you focus on how great the celebrity's body looks or the terrific clothes he or she wears?

Celebrities are expected to look good-it's often part of their job. Many have a staff devoted to helping them maintain their looks. So comparing how you look to how they look is really not a fair comparison-and you probably know that. Still, many people do compare.

The feeling that you don't measure up to your ideal is not a good feeling. That's why study after study has found that people feel negatively about themselves after seeing television shows, music videos, movies, and magazines that portray very thin "ideal women" and muscular "ideal men." Examples of such studies include:

■ "The Role of Television in Adolescent Women's Body Dissatisfaction and Drive, for Thinness," a 1996 study published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders, found a correlation between the amount of time teens watch soap operas, movies, and music videos and their degree of dissatisfaction with their own body and their desire to be thin. The more they watch, the greater their dissatisfaction.

■ "The Relationship Between Media Consumption and Eating Disorders," a 1997 study that focused on undergraduates, reached conclusions similar to the 1996 study. Media consumption was positively associated with men striving to be thinner and women feeling dissatisfied with their bodies.

■ "The Effect of Television on Mood and Body Dissatisfaction," a 2002 study, found that teenage girls who watched commercials featuring the "thin is beautiful" ideal felt less confident, more angry, and more dissatisfied with their weight and appearance than those who did not see the ads.

■ A 2002 study, "The Media's Impact on Adolescents' Body Dissatisfaction," examined how teenagers felt after reading magazines and watching music videos, soap operas, and other TV shows. The researchers concluded that teens had negative feelings about their own bodies after seeing images that emphasized the thin ideal. In the study, girls who identified with models and boys who identified with athletes also felt dissatisfied with their own bodies.

■ Yet another 2002 study at the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay revealed the effects of the media on 10-year-olds. After watching Britney Spears music video or a clip from the TV show "Friends," the elementary school students expressed dissatisfaction with their own bodies.

Even though the results of these studies highlight the negative effects of the media, the research is important. A problem has to be identified before it can be solved.

Fact Or Fiction?

The women who have made headlines because of how great they look have all been very thin.

Fact: Thin is definitely in fashion today, but it hasn't always been that way. Over several decades, the ideal body has become thinner and thinner. Marilyn Monroe, one of the most well-known beauties of all time, was 5'5" and weighed 135 pounds-she was much curvier than most models and actresses today.

The mass media speaks to "average Americans," but the body images shown in the mass media does not reflect the reality of "average Americans." It's rare to see an overweight reporter. Actors spend thousands of hours and dollars (that the average American doesn't have) to stay slim. And even then, close-ups are often enhanced through the use of body double or digital video effects.

In April 2002, the magazine Health checked to see how well the percentage of obese and underweight women appearing as network television characters matched up to the "real life" percentage of obese and underweight American women.