The widespread use of diet supplements such as ephedra raises a question about what makes the American society diet-obsessed. Many students at Ohio University blame the media for perpetuating weight consciousness through glamorous, abnormal images of the human body.
OU freshmen Lindsay Price and Tasha Davis said girls are highly vulnerable to media images because they have less self-esteem. Girls also have more eating disorders than boys, said Davis.
It makes you feel like you have to be a certain way
like that's the norm - if you're not you feel out of place said Price, an exercise physiology major.
Popular television series The O.C. feature minuscule leading ladies, and this gives some girls the illusion they are fat, said Jordann Troyer, an OU sophomore. While Jamie Lee Curtis allowed herself to be photographed without makeup or touch-ups, few celebrities have dared to counter their outstanding images.
Susan Young, a psychologist at Hudson Health Center, said media images are centered on creating sales.
Because capitalism relies on consumption, Young said, advertising works only when consumers feel that they need particular things. Americans are not subsistence consumers, who buy only what they need, so the most effective way to give them a sense of need is to instill in them fear or anger.
Media are problematic because they disconnect health and weight, she said. A person who is thin is automatically assumed to be healthy, and that person's lifestyle may be overlooked. The ultimate effect is a culturally bound disease that can be understood by examining how the affected population views itself.
Young has a collection of advertisements for low-calorie foods that connect women with indulgence. These ads suggest women crave rich foods but must restrain themselves so that they stay thin.
Media images of women have also changed the way women view their bodies since her mother's generation, Young said. While her mother would pad her hips and bust in the 1940s, women today try to narrow themselves and are more muscular.
Although the high frequency of eating disorders in women is more publicized, the diet fad market is no longer just for women. Young said an influx of Rambo-like, half-naked male icons has resulted in increasing numbers of men seeking cosmetic surgery, eating low-fat foods and taking steroids.
What happened was the female market got saturated
Young said. Men are a naïve population
so you can have offensive ads geared toward men and they won't get upset. It's like a whole new market.
New terms such as metrosexual are growing in use because of the marketing shift. Popular men's magazines now look more like women's magazines, with articles and advertisements about weight-loss products, diet foods and moisturizers. Although muscular characteristics such as pectoral size are largely genetic, even men are saving their money for breast implants.
Advertising is not an evil conspiracy, Young said, but advertisers have to create a problem that did not exist before to sell new products.
Young said that no matter the product, consumers fearful of an imperfect body will buy it.
It's not useful to tell someone that something's bad for you
Young said. If you're scared
you don't care whether something's bad for you.
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Karlie Dunsky
