Body image, eating disorders, and the media

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2019

Media influence may lead adolescents to internalize patterns of physical beauty, resulting in dissatisfaction with their own bodies when they are unable to match up to these patterns. In the constant search for an ‘ideal body’, adolescents may begin to develop risk behaviors for the development of eating disorders (ED). The object of this study was to analyze the influence of the mass media on body dissatisfaction (BD) and on ED in adolescents, comparing genders. We also analyzed the influence of BD on the risk of developing unsuitable eating behaviors, with risk of ED, comparing genders. A cross-sectional study was carried out with 1011 adolescents: 527 girls and 484 boys. The BMI of each adolescent was determined, and the instruments EAT-26, Sociocultural Attitudes towards Appearance Questionnaire-3 (SATAQ-3), and body shape questionnaire (BSQ), were applied. For statistical analysis, we used Student’s t-test, the chi-square test, Pearson’s correlation test, the odds ratio, and hi...

Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2006

Internalization of the thin body ideal is considered by many to account for the relationship between media exposure and disordered eating among girls and young women, but almost all supporting research has employed adolescent and adult samples. Using longitudinal panel survey data collected from 257 preadolescent girls at 2 points in time 1 year apart, we tested relationships between self-reported television and magazine exposure at wave 1 and current (prepubescent) and future (postpubescent) body ideals and disordered eating at wave 2. Controlling age, race, perceived body size, and body ideals and disordered eating measured at wave 1, television viewing at wave 1 predicted increased disordered eating and a thinner postpubescent body ideal at wave 2. In contrast, none of the media variables predicted a thinner prepubescent body ideal at wave 2. These findings suggest that the thin-ideal internalization construct needs refinement to enhance its developmental sensitivity.

Media Psychology, 2010

This article reviews research on the effects of television and magazines on body image and on disordered eating attitudes and behaviors in females. Evidence from different types of studies in the fields of eating disorders, media psychology, health psychology, and mass communication indicates that mass media are an extremely important source of information and reinforcement in relation to the nature of the thin beauty ideal, its importance, and how to attain it. Although considerable research remains to be done, evidence is accumulating that repeated exposure to media and to both direct and indirect (via media's effects on peers, parents, coaches, physicians, etc.) pressures from media to be thin constitute risk factors for body dissatisfaction, concerns over weight and disordered eating behaviors in adolescent girls and young women. To guide further research, as well as the prevention and treatment of disordered eating, we present a figural summary of media effects that integrates moderating and mediating factors such as internalization of the thin beauty ideal, social comparison, and activation of the thinness schema. We argue that risk factor research, prevention, and treatment will benefit from systematic research designed to clarify how the impact of various mass media is shaped by source and receiver/perceiver factors.

Academic Psychiatry, 2006

Journal of Communication, 2000

The aim of this study was to replicate survey research demonstrating a correlation between adults' thin-ideal media exposure and eating disorders (Harrison & Cantor, 1997) with a sample of 366 adolescents. Measures included interest in bodyimprovement media content, exposure to thin-ideal television and magazines, exposure to fat-character television, exposure to sports magazines, and eating-disorder symptomatology. Exposure to fat-character television, thin-ideal magazines, and sports magazines predicted eating-disorder symptomatology for females, especially older females. Exposure to fat-character television also predicted body dissatisfaction for younger males. Relationships remained significant when selective exposure based on interest in body-improvement content was controlled. Discussion centers on the importance of age and sex in moderating the effects of exposure to thin-ideal media on eating disorders. Have you seen the fool that corrupted his own live body? or the fool that corrupted her own live body? For they do not conceal themselves, and cannot conceal themselves.-Walt Whitman, 1855 During the past decade, scholars and clinicians interested in the study of electronic media effects and mental health have turned their attention to the link between exposure to thin-ideal media and eating disorders (

Adolescent Medicine State of the Art Reviews, 2009

Concern over media use and the healthy development of adolescents has typically focused on issues such as the media's role in encouraging sexual behavior 1,2 and promoting aggressive solutions to conflicts. 3,4 More recently, attention has turned to the ways in which media may promote disordered eating in adolescents by encouraging children to be more sedentary and to consume more unhealthy foods while simultaneously conveying unrealistic thinness as the ideal for beauty. In this article, we examine the potential mechanisms underlying the relationship between adolescent media use and obesity and eating disorders. In doing so, we identify potential strategies that health care providers might use to promote healthier media diets. OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY IN ADOLESCENCE Childhood obesity has been described as a "pandemic," perhaps justly given its wide geographic distribution and its impact on a high proportion of the population. 5 In the United States, Ͼ9 million children are at or above the 85th percentile for BMI, 6 a condition that puts them at risk for a host of medical problems including diabetes and joint abnormalities, 6 impaired physical functioning, 8 and social and psychological issues such as stigmatization and low self-esteem. 9 After a sharp increase in prevalence of overweight through the 1980s and 1990s, the most recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data suggest that rates of overweight among youth have leveled off. However, the problem remains serious: more than one third (34.

The Canadian child and adolescent psychiatry review = La revue canadienne de psychiatrie de l'enfant et de l'adolescent, 2004

This paper provides a review of the role of the media in the development, maintenance, prevention, and treatment of eating disorders. The literature on gambling in youth on the internet was reviewed. It explores: (1) the role of the media in providing a social context for the development of eating disorders, (2) the role of the media in the etiology of eating disorder pathology, (3) the ways in which the media is used by patients suffering from eating disorders, and (4) the role that awareness of the media can have in the treatment and prevention of eating disorders. This review demonstrates that the media does contribute to the development of eating disorders. This review highlights the need for media literacy and media activism to help change the current normative body discontent of women in the Western world.

International Journal of Psychological Studies, 2011

This study examines the impact of media on development of eating disorders in young females of Pakistan by analyzing eating disorder, weight-related issues and critically evaluating the factors, which lead to the eating disorder in females. Based on study, it is suggested that the occurrence of eating disorders and the number of young females who employ weight loss endeavors are increasing at an alarming rate. Efforts directed toward the impediment of eating disorders are needed to invalidate this tendency. Suggestions for future research include standardization of procedure. An empirical base to support the use of proposed factors; more sustained, stepwise research analyzing the eating disorder in females and rigorous programs that have sufficiently large sample sizes and lengthy follow-up periods to detect effects, will be more informative. Recommendations are proposed for health care providers and marketers to help prevent both chubbiness and eating disorders among young females. These recommendations put great emphasis on the importance of helping young females and their families, for a sustained behavioral change.

European Journal of Scientific Research

This study examines the impact of media on development of eating disorders in young females of Pakistan by analyzing eating disorder, weight-related issues and critically Do Media Develop Eating Disorders: A Study with Reference to Young Females of Pakistan 30 evaluating the factors, which lead to the eating disorder in females. Based on study, it is suggested that the occurrence of eating disorders and the number of young females who employ weight loss endeavors are increasing at an alarming rate. Efforts directed toward the impediment of eating disorders are needed to invalidate this tendency. Suggestions for future research include standardization of procedure and lengthy follow-up periods to detect effects will be informative. Recommendations are proposed for health care providers and marketers to help prevent both chubbiness and eating disorders among young females.