It's hard to turn on the TV or open a magazine without being bombarded by advertisements showing people with "perfect" bodies. One clinical psychology study, looking at body image and the media, shows that the average female sees between 400 and 600 advertisements per day. Many of these, whether directly or indirectly, pertain to beauty and body image.
Caitlyn Hatcher, a junior who participates in a media literacy research group at Bartlett High School, says she learned that the media often uses certain tactics to portray their models to give them a more "perfect" look.
"They usually portray men as being buff... people are just a body, only show torso..."
When ads show only perfect bodies, it sends a message that they are the norm, even though the average model is 5 foot 8 and between 108 and 125 pounds, and the average woman is a size fourteen.
Bartlett's Caitlyn Hatcher says the images she sees every day are unrealistic.
"The bodies you see on television screen, there are only a few women that have the genetics to look like that, without going anorexic or doing something harmful to you health."
Beth Cook, a nutritionist at the Alaska Native Medical Center, says that seeing images of perfect bodies can have harmful effects on how teenagers view their own bodies
One poll done by the Eating Disorders Awareness and Prevention Center found that more girls are more afraid of being fat than of nuclear war, cancer, or losing their parents.
"Girls have to be skinny... guys can be anything."
Many teens, such as Bartlett senior Bjorn Miller, say they think the media is harder on girls than boys.
This can be seen in pop culture today. Many female country singers look like supermodels, while male country singers run the gauntlet from Tim McGraw to Kenny Rogers.
According to a study in 2000 by Harvard University, ninety percent of teenage girls reported frequently thinking about their body shape, and eighty-six percent of girls are, or think, they should be dieting, even though only 1 in 5 teens is actually overweight.
Eighteen-year-old Jacob Sleeth says some girls he knows are preoccupied with their weight.
"I know a lot of girls who are really skinny, and when they gain two pounds they start freaking out and going on diets, it's concerning."
There is definitely an obsession with looking good in today's society, as can be seen from shows such as Fox's "The Swan" and on ABC's "Extreme Makeover." The average- looking person is a dying breed in the media. Kimberly Daily was the only one of a group of high school students interviewed who could think of a single ad that either directly or indirectly used "normal" looking models.
Instead of focusing on being thin, most health websites say it is more important to live a healthy lifestyle and not worry so much about what is reflected in the mirror.
Teens and body image
