Men are never expected to eat less in order not to gain weight. ... Nowadays, especially in the United States, where the obesity and weight control is a controversial issue within the females specifically, it is easy for teenage girls and even adult women to get obsessed with the perfect image of women shown in the mainstream media and put huge amount of work and effort to reach to that perfection, or at least get close to that. ... She was 16 years old when she started to think of losing weight. At first, I thought that it was normal for a teenage girl to start working out, eating health...

• Word Count: 1909
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Kids as early as third grade are concerned about their weight. ... Surrounded by thin models and TV stars, teenage girls are taught to achieve an impossible goal. As a result, many teenage girls intensely dislike their bodies and can tell you down to the minutest detail what is wrong with it. ... To think of a little girl or boy hurting themselves, consciously at that young of an age is very hard to understand. ... Every magazine has the same body image for boys, girls, men and women. ...

• Word Count: 2222
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

Weighing 85% or less than weight expected for their age and height. Existing in a state of denial regarding the dangers of low weight. ... Heather advised that she remembered always being "heavier than other children- when growing up, but that it did not bother her until she entered her early teenaged years. She reported that during this time her peer group, as well as her parents, became critical of her weight. ... As her early attempts to control her weight began to be noticed, she was rewarded with praise and admiration. ...

• Word Count: 3069
• Approx Pages: 12
• Has Bibliography