Running header: The Media’s Effect On Body Image And Eating Disorders

The Media’s Effect On Body Image And Eating Disorders: A literary Review

Karyna Rodriguez

English 1312

UTEP
The Media’s Effect On Body Image And Eating Disorders 2

Abstract

More and more do we see our young generations obsess with body image. It is more

prominent now than it has ever been in history. The focus of magazines and advertisements is to

give the readers what they want, but at what price? These sources of media are saturated with

photographs of thin, beautiful and nearly perfect men and women, finding their way to the hands

of thousands of girls and boys across the country. To see this body image that society deems as

ideal has begun to apply great pressure amongst many of these readers who are willing to do

almost whatever it takes to achieve this ideal body. It may eventually lead to the manifestation of

eating disorders, such as the story of an anonymous interviewee presented later on. This literary

review provides information that weaves together the issues of the body image that the media

distributes and how it may be linked to the development of eating disorders.

The Media’s Effect On Body Image And Eating Disorders 3

The Media’s Effect on Body Image and Eating Disorders

The mass media is notoriously known to give their audience what they want and how

they want it. From television shows to magazine articles and advertisements to those hundreds of

billboards posted along the interstate, the media is determined to share their message to the

world. It takes lots of time, careful planning, and perhaps even some tedious scrutiny of what

satisfies the mental consumption of society. But to what lengths will the mass media extend itself

for the success of their business?

A very marketable topic in today’s magazines consists of celebrities, fashion, models and

health, which can all be ultimately correlated, whether it is in the form of articles or

advertisements. Countless amounts of these forms of media emphasize on diets and exercise

regimes that are meant to help lose weight. Magazines are covered with images of men and

women, models or not, with the ideal body yet none show praise to the average body type.

Consequently, many individuals want to look beautiful, almost perfect, while simultaneously

making it look effortless.

However, the desire to be body perfect may come with a price. Many women and men

struggle to attain this desired, socially acceptable figure of curves and muscles in all the proper

places. After countless diets and exercise regimes they may become frustrated that their body

does not compare to the photoshopped images they see in a magazine. Desperation may manifest

in the vulnerable, leading to extreme diets that may result in serious mental illnesses known as

eating disorders, primarily Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. This controversy of the
The Media’s Effect On Body Image And Eating Disorders 4

correlation between media and the manifestation of these disorders can lead to numerous

questions, including:

1. Does the media affect body image?

2. Can the struggle to obtain the ideal body lead to eating disorders?
3. What are eating disorders?
4. What are the effects of eating disorders?

Does Media affect Body Image?

According to the online article Media Influence Eating Disorders, written by DeGroat,”

the drive for thinness is a learned behavior” (DeGroat, 1997 para. #8). This means that the drive

to be thin is not an inherent goal that humans strive for. Depending on how people grow up and

what they were exposed to, they begin to set their own goals at the age of cognitive thinking.

This can be heavily influenced by many factors, in this case, the media.

It has become common in the modern age for the top headlines of
Figure 1

entertainment and women’s magazines to display an image of a

slim, taut and beautiful woman along with notions of weight

reduction; a high percentage of them display the alarmingly

rapid weight loss of celebrities. Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Richie,

Victoria Beckham and Tori Spelling are prime examples. The

same goes for the glamorization of fashion models who “weigh

23 percent less than the average female, although these

representations are perceived to be normal” (Adolescent Girls

and Body Image 2010).

The Media’s Effect On Body Image And Eating Disorders 5

However, women aren’t the only targets amongst society. Little by little, men are

beginning to feel their bodies are not up to par with the media created standard. It is believed that

because the body is one’s perceptual field, it corresponds as part of oneself. The closer the

individual body is related to his or her identity, the more it maximizes the likelihood that is

reflects the complete picture of which he is (Males with Eating Disorders1990). This implies that

if the outer image of a person is in sync with the personality, the whole being will be in harmony,

but because of the desire to achieve an ideal body, this harmony may not be readily reached.

Unlike the desire of weight reduction that women struggle for, men are primarily concerned with

physical fitness. Many of the magazines targeted to males feature men who are physically fit,

Figure 2 built with muscle and low body fat percentage.

Two surveys were created in order to attain a glimpse of

how these women and men can be affected. According to a

survey conducted, “Ladies, How About You,” 54% of the

women who took the survey admitted to have at some point

wished to look like one of their favorite celebrities, 64% of them

claiming that they have thought that they needed to lose weight.

According to another conducted survey, “Gentlemen, How

About You,” 95.5% of the men admitted to wishing that they wanted to either lose weight and/

or build more muscle mass, 95.5% of them claiming that they rather look cut and in shape as

opposed to how they look now.

Can the struggle to obtain the ideal body lead to eating disorders?
The Media’s Effect On Body Image And Eating Disorders 6

According to the surveys mentioned, approximately 36.4% and 54.5% of men claimed

that they have changed their eating habits to lose weight and/or build muscle.

The standard and preferred method to lose weight is to burn more calories than

consumed. To lose weight healthily, one must introduce gradual changes. “The body likes slow

changes in terms of food an exercise.”(Phillinger 2009 para. #1). When making the decision to

lose weight, one must keep in mind that it is not a temporary adjustment. The journey of weight

loss should be seen in terms of permanent, healthy lifestyle changes.

Due to society’s fast-pace lifestyle, however, a gradual change might not be enough. It

may begin as a means to lose weight the healthy way, but the impatience of many people can

cause them to take extreme measures. Cue-in: crash diets.

Crash diets come in various forms. This includes, but is not limited to the Cabbage Soup

Diet, the Lemonade Diet (a.k.a. Master Cleanse), the Grapefruit diet, Slimfast and the 7 Day diet,

each guaranteeing some amount of weight loss in a short amount of time. For example, the

Master Cleanse is a body detox that consists of a salt water flush every morning, laxative tea

every night and a minimum of 64oz of a specific lemonade concoction for a period of no less

than ten days (Glickman, 2005). Although it is not used primarily as a solution to lose weight,

the book does claim that weight will be lost.

The thought of losing weight this quick can be very appealing, luring in thousands upon

thousands of people in society, but there are moments for many people in which not even crash

diets are working fast enough. “It did start with a simple notion of losing weight. I wanted to be

as thin and gorgeous as the models and actresses I see,” says an interviewee who prefers to

remain anonymous, “but after a while it became an obsession. Losing weight was all I could
The Media’s Effect On Body Image And Eating Disorders 7

think of. I would set a goal to fast for forty days, living off of only water, but that never ended

well. By the end of the fourth day I would give in and have a ‘mini’ binge. Then, I would try

again, losing weight very, very slowly. All I wanted was for the pounds to melt off as fast as

possible.” This eventually led to her living life in cycles of fasting and binging, fasting and

binging, which ultimately resulted her in gaining whatever she lost and more. “It came to the

point where… Eating disorders became appealing to me,” she continues, “People who had eating

disorders could lose weight so quickly, and that’s what I wanted. The first time I ever purged

[self-induced vomiting] was last year, July 2009.” The interviewee continues with her story,

stating that everyday from then on she would purge everything she ate and even gave in to

abusing laxatives. “Laxatives… haha, yes that’s kind of gross… Laxatives made me feel so

empty every morning. My stomach would feel flat and after a year or so, I went from 136 lbs

down to 108 lbs, but all these unhealthy methods were the only way to maintain it. Funny

because, if I had just stuck to healthy eating an exercising, I could’ve lost just as much and

possibly even more…” She claims that the media has impacted her body image. Being

surrounded by photos of attractive and slender women along with other contributing factors lead

to patterns of disordered eating. Up to date, the interviewee has reached out for help. She now

tries her best to eat normally and incorporate exercise, but she is still mentally struggling with

the way she looks.

What are Eating Disorders?

It is now evident that the current ideal body image of thinness can provoke the

manifestation of disordered eating and ultimately to eating disorders. It is estimated that

approximately 8 million people in the United States suffer from eating disorders – 7 million

women and 1 million men (Eating Disorder Statistics 2001). But what exactly is an eating
The Media’s Effect On Body Image And Eating Disorders 8

disorder? Many people see the solution to them as simply eat more or eat less, but is it really that

easy?

There are two major types of eating disorders: Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa,

commonly known solely as Anorexia and Bulimia.

The diagnostic features of Anorexia Nervosa include a refusal to maintain minimal body

weight according to the BMI scale, an intense fear of gaining weight and a distorted image of

one’s own body and amenorrhea, the loss of cyclic menstruation (Diagnostic and Statistical
Figure 2
2000). Weight loss is usually

accomplished due to the reduction

of total food intake. It may begin

with only excluding certain foods

from the diet that are perceived as

high-caloric, thus resulting in a

very limited diet to only few foods. Additional methods to lose weight include self-induced

vomiting, misuse of laxatives or diuretics and increased or excessive exercise.

No matter how thin the individual is, they still have a fear of gaining weight or becoming

fat. This fear ironically may intensify as weight continues to decrease (Diagnostic and Statistical

2000). Others may realize they are thin, but complain that a certain body part, usually the

abdomen, buttocks and thighs, as too fat.

The diagnostic features of Bulimia Nervosa are only slightly similar to Anorexia Nervosa

to a certain extent. Unlike Anorexia Nervosa, those suffering from Bulimia Nervosa are usually

of normal weight or slightly overweight. Bulimia Nervosa is characterized by binge eating and
The Media’s Effect On Body Image And Eating Disorders 9

inappropriate methods to prevent weight gain (purging), a compensatory action. An individual

suffering from Bulimia Nervosa is also excessively influenced by body shape and weight. To

qualify, one must have been binging and purging at least, on average, a total of twice a week for

three months (Diagnostic and Statistical 2000).

A binge is defined as eating an excessive amount of food, far more than one normally

eats, in a short period of time, usually no more than two hours. A typical binge can include any

kind of food, but mostly consists of high-caloric foods such as cakes, cookies or ice cream

(Diagnostic and Statistical 2000).

Binging is usually accompanied by lack of self-control. When binging, the individual

usually enters a kind of trance, but after prolonged suffering from bulimia, binging becomes an

impairment of control rather than lack of it. It becomes excruciatingly difficult to cease such

behaviors (Diagnostic and Statistical 2000).

Like Anorexics, Bulimics also use compensatory methods to prevent weight gain. About

80-90% of purging consists of self-induced vomiting. Other methods include abuse of laxatives,

diuretics, or excessive exercise (Diagnostic and Statistical 2000).

What are the effects of eating disorders?

Like anything in life, whether if be positive or negative, actions come with consequences.

Both Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa places individuals at a high risk of shortened

lifespan due to the many complications involved with each disorder.

Those suffering from Anorexia Nervosa are at a high risk of anxiety and depression. This

may lead to suicidal behaviors and substance abuse. These are just the psychological effects

linked to this eating disorder (Complications of Anorexia Nervosa).

The Media’s Effect On Body Image And Eating Disorders 10

Hormonal effects of Anorexia Nervosa pose to be the most serious leading to severe

health conditions. The dominant reproductive hormone known as estrogen decreases, causing

bone loss, infertility and many other problems. Thyroid and growth hormones may also decrease

over time. This is especially dangerous to children who are still developing. Decreased hormones

may lead to retarded growth (Complications of Anorexia Nervosa)

In severe cases of Anorexia Nervosa, the heart can be affected in many ways. It is the

most common medical death linked to this eating disorder. Heart complications results in

“dangerous heart rhythms, including slow rhythms known as bradycardia” (Anorexia Nervosa

2008). These heart problems are due to the imbalances of minerals (calcium, potassium,

phosphate and magnesium), known as electrolyte imbalances. Electrolytes are crucial for

maintaining the electric currents needed for a normal heartbeat (Complications of Anorexia

Nervosa).This can ultimately lead to death if not treated soon enough.

Complications associated with prolonged Bulimia Nervosa including erosion of teeth and

gum problems, water retention and abdominal bloating, fluid loss, irregular menstrual cycle and

damage to the esophagus (Complications of Bulimia Nervosa).

The Media’s Effect On Body Image And Eating Disorders 11

The erosion of teeth occurs because of frequent exposure to the hydrochloric acid

released in the stomach that helps break down food. It begins by eating away at the layer of
Figure 3
enamel, which protects our teeth. Once the layer of enamel is no more, the

hydrochloric acid begins eating away at the bone. Fluid loss is

incredibly dangerous. It is usually caused by frequent

vomiting and/or laxative abuse. If these two actions are not

stopped, it can lead to weakness, near paralysis or lethal heart rhythms (Complications of

Bulimia Nervosa). The interviewee gave a brief explanation of how she was affected: “At one

point, I just felt so incredibly weak that I couldn’t even carry my own laptop. It only weighs

about four pounds. I was at my friend’s house ready to leave when all of a sudden I felt

incredibly light-headed. Next thing I know, I’m on the floor convulsing. My eyes were still open

and I could see the room, but I had no control whatsoever of my body. It was scary because once

I got up to ask my friend for help, I fainted. Luckily my friend was already coming back to the

room and caught me mid-fall.”

Conclusion

Today’s media is filled with many images of attractive men and women, whether they are

in the form of advertisements or the covers of magazines. Since the fast-paced society is in

constant exposure to these images, it can have influence on one’s perception of their own body

image. As the anonymous interviewee reported, she wanted to be thin as the women she saw in

magazines. In her case, what she claimed to be an honest attempt at losing weight eventually

spiraled out of control, leading to various forms of purging. Although the media is not the

immediate cause of eating disorders, it can heavily influence the thoughts of others that may,

which in severe cases, lead to patterns of disordered eating.

The Media’s Effect On Body Image And Eating Disorders 12

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