Media not solely to blame for weight problems
Leanna Payton
Issue date: 2/18/09 Section: Lifestyles
The most deadly psychological disorders today are eating disorders, according to WebMD, and many believe it is largely due to the media.
In a 2002 study on fifth graders, 10-year-old children told researchers they were unhappy with their bodies after watching a music video by Britney Spears or an episode of the TV show "Friends," according to the National Institute on Media and the Family.
Seventy-eight percent of females are unhappy with their weight by the time they are 17, according to the study. Is the media to be faulted for these statistics? And why do models and actresses carry this type of stigma with them?
"It can have an effect because we are so exposed to the media, and young people want to imitate those emphasized," UA journalism professor Hoyt Purvis said. "The role of the media is to present a balanced picture and sometimes they do and sometimes they don't, but you cannot blame it all on the media."
An estimated 10 percent of female college students suffer from a clinical or borderline eating disorder. Of that 10 percent, more than half suffer from bulimia nervosa, according to WebMD.
"Fashion models are clearly very thin, and that translates into the belief that if you're going to be successful you have to be thin," Purvis said. "But, for example, the media have increased their coverage of women's sports and you get a lot of different shapes, which is a more representative picture."
From a model's point of view, however, the media does portray them negatively, said freshman Regan Stotts, a model herself.
"They act as if models are forcing themselves to be that way, when there are actually people who are skinny naturally," she said.
Stotts has been modeling for a year and a half and has never seen anyone with an eating disorder, she said.
"You don't assume every person overweight has an eating disorder and there's nothing wrong with them," Stotts said. "It's frustrating to be judged for something you can't change - it's the same thing as judging someone's hair or height."
In a 2002 study on fifth graders, 10-year-old children told researchers they were unhappy with their bodies after watching a music video by Britney Spears or an episode of the TV show "Friends," according to the National Institute on Media and the Family.
Seventy-eight percent of females are unhappy with their weight by the time they are 17, according to the study. Is the media to be faulted for these statistics? And why do models and actresses carry this type of stigma with them?
"It can have an effect because we are so exposed to the media, and young people want to imitate those emphasized," UA journalism professor Hoyt Purvis said. "The role of the media is to present a balanced picture and sometimes they do and sometimes they don't, but you cannot blame it all on the media."
An estimated 10 percent of female college students suffer from a clinical or borderline eating disorder. Of that 10 percent, more than half suffer from bulimia nervosa, according to WebMD.
"Fashion models are clearly very thin, and that translates into the belief that if you're going to be successful you have to be thin," Purvis said. "But, for example, the media have increased their coverage of women's sports and you get a lot of different shapes, which is a more representative picture."
From a model's point of view, however, the media does portray them negatively, said freshman Regan Stotts, a model herself.
"They act as if models are forcing themselves to be that way, when there are actually people who are skinny naturally," she said.
Stotts has been modeling for a year and a half and has never seen anyone with an eating disorder, she said.
"You don't assume every person overweight has an eating disorder and there's nothing wrong with them," Stotts said. "It's frustrating to be judged for something you can't change - it's the same thing as judging someone's hair or height."
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