Professors: media images lead to eating disorders
By Nellie Williams
News Writer
In a society filled with young women crazed to look like super models, movie stars and Barbie dolls, eating disorders are silently advertised in almost all media, according to research done by two Saint Mary's professors.
Karen Chambers, a psychology professor, and Susan Alexander, a sociology professor, are very concerned with the message the media conveys to young women, they said during a presentation for Eating Disorders Awareness Week.
"Everyday our students are bombarded with stuff from the media," said Chambers.
Eating disorders have become a major problem in the United States. Women are dissatisfied with their bodies and feel they are not "ideally" thin enough, the professors said.
The ideal woman, based on media images, averages 5-foot-7, weighs 100 pounds and wears a size two, Alexander said. In reality, however, she said, a woman on the average is 5-foot-4, weighs 140 pounds and wears a size 14.
In the past century, thinness has historically changed. In 1905 the ideal woman was modeled after the "Gibson Girl," with a tight, hourglass figure.
In 1894, the ideal "White Rock Girl" was 5-foot-4 and weighed 140 pounds, much like the "reality woman" the pair discussed. In 1947, she was still 5-foot-4, but weighed 124 pounds. Then in the 1970s, the "White Rock Girl" was 5-foot-8 and weighed 118 pounds.
Ninety-five percent of American women are not born with the "ideal" body. Even some models diet and have eating disorders.
"We feel ashamed of our bodies and feel guilty when we eat," said Alexander.
Women who suffer from anorexia show an emphasis in their lives on personal achievement with perfectionist behavior. They feel driven to succeed and place a high value on external acceptance. Anorexia is more prevalent in industrial societies, especially in the United States where there is an abundance of food and very thin images portrayed on television and in advertisements.
Research shows that some young girls are more afraid of being fat than anything else, the professors said.
Alexander and Chambers presented more startling statistics that they discovered through their research. Seventy-five percent of American women are dissatisfied with their bodies. Fifty percent of 9-year-old girls and 80 percent of 10-year-old girls say they have dieted at one time or another and 90 percent of high school girls diet regularly.
The peaks for anorexia are 14 and 18, the ages in which people enter high school and college.
On average, 1 percent of the women in high school and 5 percent in college suffer from anorexia.
"That means roughly about 70 women [at Saint Mary's have eating disorders]," said Alexander. "Think about who we have here at Saint Mary's College. We have the highest risk factors here."
However, there has been little systematic research done in other cultures to see if anorexia is as much of a problem. Studies show that if a person travels from a culture where thin images are rare to a culture were they are more prevalent, that person will begin to become more aware of her image and start comparing herself to that "ideal" image.
The two suggested media literacy as a way to combat the negative effects from the media that may promote eating disorders.
"We can't censor all the media," said Alexander. "Rather than trying to eliminate the images, we want to alter the way women apply the images to themselves."
Using first-year students at Saint Mary's, Alexander and Chambers conducted an experiment to see if using different techniques to teach young women about eating disorders has an affect on how they view their body image.
The research consisted of three groups — one that watched a video on eating disorders, one that read an article, and one control group. All groups then answered the same questions on how they felt about their body images compared to ideal images.
The research results showed that the women who watched the video did not see much difference between their current body and the "ideal" body. The control group had a significant difference.
"The media presentations were effective," said Chambers. "Students were learning from both the video and the article."
Alexander said the media makes women feel guilty.
Both Chambers and Alexander agree that discussion is even better than presenting material.
"Part of why we don't want to focus on psychological [problems] is because what we're bombarded with everyday is images, images, images. We have to work on a systematic level," said Alexander.
Alexander and Chambers plan to continue their research.
"Ideally, we would like to track the same group of students," said Alexander.
She said that part of the problem with eating disorders is a competitiveness in some women.
"We are cultural and socially taught to look at other women and compare ourselves," said Alexander. "It's almost like you can't stop yourself from doing it."
All News Stories for Tuesday, February 15, 2000
