Eating Disorders and the Media

Paper Summary:

This well-researched paper examines the views and opinions of cultivation theorists who maintain that the media, both electronic and print, tends to clouds one's judgment of reality. The writer of this paper focuses on the contribution of the media to the culture of thinness and perfection and the increasing cases of eating disorders in young women. This paper examines the published research, which indicates that female adolescents are increasingly being subjected to unhealthy body images in print and electronic media. This paper explores the research which proves that internalization of media-promoted images may have an even more pronounced impact on body image. This paper discusses the fact the eating disorders are more prevalent in girls than in boys. The writer contends and explains why young people who are more aware of existing socio-cultural pressures are less affected by media exposure than others.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Method
Results
Discussion
Conclusion
References

From the Paper:

"Research has consistently demonstrated that media images especially TV commercials and magazines play a dominant role in distortion of body image leading to increased cases of eating disorders among women. Kalodner concluded that images of thin models in media generated feelings of anxiety, stress, and dissatisfaction among women but not in men. But different results might be obtained if men were shown images of muscular models instead of thin females since culture of thinness affects women more. Body mass index (BMI) was used in many researches to demonstrate that even those women whose BMI indicate good height-weight proportion also suffered from body image disturbance and developed eating disorder."

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