Skinny Size Me

It is 5:30 AM on a Tuesday morning when Megan gets up, she is unbearably tired, but she eventually forces herself too get up and work out from the depressing thoughts she has about her body image. Megan wears a size eight jean and has a BMI of 18, which is a very healthy size but feels she is fat from looking at all the models on TV and her peers at school. This is not uncommon for teenagers in our society today. The constant strive to fit in and not stand out is so strong that in some cases all forms of happiness can be lost in attempts to conform to something such as being anorexic.

In our media today size-0 bodies are idolized. You can’t turn on the television without seeing a commercial with an anorexic sized model advertising her product, or a commercial promoting a weight loss program and pill. Why do we idolize these unnaturally thin women as our picture of “beautiful” and strive to make ourselves conform to this image? Why do we promote something harmful for ourselves that is ultimately a life threatening condition?

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 0.5-3.7% of women will suffer from anorexia in their life; 1.1-4.2% will suffer from bulimia, and 2-5% for a binge eating disorder. These rates make anorexia related deaths 12 times higher than other mental illness related deaths for women ages 15-24. This age range is also the age range targeted by the media through TV, magazines, and other forms of advertisements. They target this age because this is the age of finding your identity, and the TV hopes to “brainwash” you into believing obsessing about your weight, and using fad diets will make you ultimately happy. We need to realize everyone has different body shapes, sizes, and metabolism rates. Instead of sending the message to young adults and kids through the media that you need to change your body to look like a skinny celebrity we need to be promoting self confidence and loving your body just the way it is with a healthy appetite and adequate amount of exercise.

Today even modeling agencies have put bans on model companies having realized the effects of being too skinny and the message it is sending viewers. The World Health Organization’s have promoted stopping the acceptance of models with a BMI of 14.5 and lower since the tragic death of 98-pound 5’9 Uruguayan model Luisel Ramos. Ramos dropped dead on a fashion show in Montevideo, Uruguay on August 2, 2006. Her death was due to heart failure caused by anorexia nervosa. A BMI being held at 16 or lower is considered starvation by the World Health Organization, but everyday size-0 models still walk the runways with BMI’s of lower than 16, just like the media still promotes losing weight to be happy and fulfill all your life’s dreams.

Women think looking stick skinny is also what men want, but studies of anthropology show that men prefer women with a greater hip to waist ratio. Men are very visual and women generally try to make themselves seem as attractive as possible to males, but by losing weight and hurting themselves in the process they are ultimately doing the exact opposite. The greater the hips creates the bigger buttocks, and studies conducted by Harvard College show that men prefer women to be in the middle ratio and have some curves rather than be stick skinny. < http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~hbe-lab/acrobatfiles/profilewhr.pdf>

Evidence of anorexia is very alive in every community, and virtually every person knows its harmful effects, but still seems to strive towards it. Hopefully someday women can come to peace with their bodies, and know they are beautiful just the way they are. This day will not come easy with the media heavily promoting skinny models to sell products and weight loss fads, but I have confidence that through education someday we will come to realize it’s not worth it to hurt yourself. You don’t need to be a size-0 to be happy!