"In America it is more acceptable to be a drug addict than it is to be fat," these are the words of the formerly overweight member, Carnie Wilson; of the singing group Wilson Philips. .
It is almost everywhere you look: pictures on magazine covers, advertisements, and billboards. Standing in the line at the grocery store, flipping through a magazine, or just glancing at a commercial on television. It is quite evident by looking at these pictures of young women and men what the media considers as the "ideal" figure. This perception society has created, plays a major part in our countries obsession with thinness and extreme dieting (Nardo 1991). .
America's obsession with diets, the fashion industry and television exhibiting dangerously thin models as "sexy", gives a distorted notion sending many young women the wrong idea about body image (Beating the Odds). In today's society these eating problems, such as anorexia and bulimia, are becoming all too common. Yet, the question still remains, what are the causes and factors contributing to this destructive behavior, and what kind of impact is the media contributing to these problems (Pipher 1995)? Although there are only a few professional studies on the issue of eating disorders and the link between the diseases and the media: the research that has been done is quite intriguing (Pipher 1995). Hopefully with time, more research will fill in some of the links to the mystery of eating disorders. .
The fashion industry, television, and society's norms have all promoted not only a distorted perspective of what a "beautiful" person is defined as, but they have influenced many to deception, and leaving many with an eating disorder (Vollstadt 1999). Looking at the television one can easily notice all of the ads and diet commercials claiming to have to newest and hottest diet. With these ads and societies norms, many are led to believe once the weight is lost, we they will be happy (Silverstein 1991).