According to an article in the 2003 issue of Teen Magazine, it was reported that 35% of girls ages six to twelve years old have been on at least one diet (media). Also, 50-70% of girls with normal weight (proportional weight to their height) believe they are overweight (media). In society, girls of the high school or college age struggle with their weight. They view their body image negatively, always criticizing the way they look. This causes them to go on diets in order to lose the weight. The American research group, Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders Inc., say that 1 out of every 4 college-aged women use unhealthy methods of weight control, including skipping meals, over exercising, and weight loss pills (media). They do not have the proper knowledge or understanding of dieting. They will go to great extents, even hurting themselves in order to be thin. This leads to deadly eating disorders such as Anorexia and Bulimia. These cause great damage to the body and could ultimately end in death. In some cases, it is important for one to lose weight for health related issues, but why does an average, healthy sized young woman want to become even thinner[,] to the point where the body doesn’t function properly and ultimately shut[s] down? Through the media and economic tactics, these women are exposed to very thin, beautiful women that convince them to become this ideal form of beauty.
Body image in the media is becoming a very prevalent issue, especially for woman. Research indicates that exposure to images of thin, young, airbrushed female bodies is linked to depression, loss of self-esteem, and development of unhealthy habits in woman and girls. These woma[e]n are exposed to this ideal way of looking by the magazines they read and the television programs they watch. 52% of children ages 5-17 have a TV in their rooms and the TV is on for an average of 7 hours and 12 minutes in an U.S. home (media). Therefore, they are constantly exposed to media image of beauty. High school or college teens already have a very low self-esteem. Self-esteem is the result of comparing how we’d like to be and what we’d like to accomplish with how we actually see ourselves (teen). Teens are still figuring out who they are and where they fit in the world, especially when moving to a new atmosphere with new people, for example college. They want others to like and accept them and receive attention. They look up to higher authority figures for guidance. If they are reading a magazine or watching television they will notice all the woman are very thin and receiving much attention. They immediately link being thin with popularity and, therefore, use it as their way into the popular crowd. This is a problem that exists now and will continue for many years to come. Popular actresses are becoming younger, taller and thinner which can lead to nothing but bad outcomes for the future teens of society.
Another cause of young woman dieting is even deeper than the media. The root is economics. By presenting an ideal [that is; I think this makes this sentence a little clearer] difficult to achieve, the cosmetic and diet product industries are assured of growth and profits. Such programs as Jenny Craig and L.A. Weight Loss charge by the week and can become very expensive. If the weight and thinness of woman seen on TV or in magazines decreases then other women are more likely to join and stay for more and more weeks until they reach that ideal weight. The current media ideal of thinness for woman is achievable by less than 5 % of the female population (social). This thinness is increasingly promoted as an essential criterion of beauty and because woman are insecure about their bodies, they are more likely to buy beauty products, new clothes, and diet aid[s] (media). It is estimated that the diet industry alone is worth $100 billion (media). Weight loss is moving farther and farther away from being strictly for health related issues and toward strategies and tactics of advertising and increasing the profit of a product [very nice sentence!].
Dieting is a major issue today among the young woman of society. The cause is directly related to the influence of the media. Through magazines and TV, products are being promoted with thin, beautiful woman, convincing the viewers to buy products in order to make them equally as thin and beautiful. It causes them to go on diets that are unhealthy and unsafe. They try to lose as much weight in the least amount of time. They believe either not eating at all or binge eating will drop them down five pant sizes. Not only that, but it will ultimately destroy their bodies. 150,000 woman die each year from an eating disorder (social). A percentage perished from malnourishment but the most deaths result from suicide. Eating disorders, especially Anorexia, are associated with an increased risk of attempted suicide. The mortality rate of anorexia is 20 %, which is the highest of an psychiatric disorder (social). No matter their weight, they will always feel that they will never achieve the ideal from of beauty. As a result, they become frustrated. The young woman believe that they can never accomplish anything and convince themselves that there is nothing left to live for, ultimately taking their own life. To them, the reflection in the mirror never changes. Even when they are underweight, they still view themselves as overweight.

Media Awareness Network. Beauty and Body Image in the Media. http://www.media∞- awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/women_and_girls/women_beauty.cfm

Social Issues Research Centre. Mirror Mirror: A Summary of Research Findings on Body Image. http://www.sirc.org/publik/mirror.html∞

Teen Health. How Can I Improve My Self Esteem.