The image of women as portrayed by the media, fashion, and Hollywood has changed drastically from even 50 years ago. Back then, women were portrayed with wider hips, more voluptuous curves, and overall, they were actually representative of the general population, i.e. they weighed more. Today, the image portrayed by fashion and Hollywood is one of an almost skeletal frame, super narrow hips, and an enhanced bust line. The media heightens this by pushing this image in front of us any chance they get along with "new and magnificent ways of losing weight." The most unfortunate part about this is that the youth of this country absorb this heightened media image of a 90-110 pound woman as the de facto image they should strive to become regardless of the effects. To be fair, not everyone buys into this, but it seems difficult not to do so when women are constantly bombarded by these images. Just take a look at Lindsay Lohan, Miley Cyrus, etc. whose ribs are almost popping through their skin. On top of not being healthy, they are flat out being poor role models. They themselves buy into this image portrayed by the media and other outlets.
Some of the scary side effects of women and girls buying into this image are the eating disorders that can be associated with losing weight, anorexia and bulemia. These women and girls, after finding it admittedly difficult to lose the weight through diet and exercise, turn to starvation and binging and purging as options to make sure that they remain skeletally thin. This depletes their bodies of necessary nutrients leading to possible organ failure, depression, or death if left untreated. The media however, only briefly touches on these eating disorders and instead continues to portray these skeletal women as role models. (By media I mean TV, magazines, internet, and newspapers.)
Over the past few years, there has been a new diet program that has been gaining popularity even though no studies done support its efficacy. This program involves a 500 calorie diet combined with daily injections (performed by the patient herself) of hCG, a fertility hormone. It is speculated that this hormone assists the body in getting rid of fat from unwanted areas. However, all scientific studies done show that the main effect it has is one of a placebo effect. The hormone itself does not actually aid in losing the weight, the women taking it just believe it does and thus continue on their 500 calorie diet, losing the weight on their own. The other half of this, the 500 calorie diet is fairly close to starvation. The average person eats between 1800 and 3000 calories a day. This hormone/diet program is not even that affordable. The initial cost for one visit and a month's supply can range anywhere from $800 to $1200 dollars. (Let me be clear, if this works for some people, go for it, I however would advocate against it.)
This is just another in a continuous string of diet programs, weight loss supplements, and such that are effectively pushed to help women attain the ideal image. Overall, the idea of weight loss is fantastic, but there are very simple ways to achieve it. All I am saying here is that all these programs coupled with the media's portrayal of ghastly thin women as the "ideal" leads to a problem. There are many women out there who don't know when to stop dieting, trying to take off and keep off as many pounds as possible. Every person is different and there is no ideal weight. Even taking 5 women of the same height, their ideal weight for their bodies will differ. There is a standard portrayed where every person at a certain height and age must weigh a certain number in order to be ideally healthy. Everyone is different and this must be taken into account.
So what is the overall message here? Weight loss is great, if done through natural means (obviously something I advocate), but women must be careful how much they buy into the portray of the ideal woman by the media, fashion, and Hollywood. Get to a weight where you feel comfortable and do it at your own pace. You have your whole life to lose the weight, why try and do it in 2 months, or even 6 months. It takes some people years to get down to a weight where they feel comfortable and there is nothing wrong with that. Especially in regards to weight, it is sometimes good to practice a little delayed gratification. Once you get there, you can look back on the process with pride and a sense of accomplishment. Do what is good for you, not what is good for everyone else. Start leading a healthy life and don't buy into the "ideal woman". There is no ideal woman. There are only individuals who are fantastic no matter what they look like.
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