younger, taller and

Lack of food. Women's magazines are full of articles urging that if they can just lose

those last twenty pounds, theyll have it all --the perfect marriage, loving children

ereat sex and a rewarding career

8) Why are standards of beauty being imposed on women, the maiority of whom are

aurally larger and more mature than any of he models? The roots, some analyss

say, are economic. By presenting an ideal difficult to achieve and maintain. the

osmetic(化妆品) and diet product industries are assured of growth and profits

nd it's no accident that youth is increasingly promoted, along with thinness, as an

tial criterion of beauty. If not all women need to lose weight, for sure hey re

all agng, says the Quebec Action Network for Womens Health in its 2001 report.

And, according to the industry, age is a disaster that needs to be dealt with

Te stakes( AR3)are huge. On the one hand, women who are insecure about their

bodies are more likely to buy beauty produets, new clothes and diet aids. It is

estimated that the diet industry alone is worth anywhere between 40 to 100 billion

(U. S. )a year selling temporary weight loss (90%o to 95g of dieters regain the

weight). On the other hand, research indicates that exposure to images of thin

ug, air-brushed(气笔,喷枪) female bodies is linked to depression,los

self-esteem and the development of unhealthy eating habits in women and girls

D, The American research group Anorexia Nervosa Related Eating Disorders, Inc

sas that one out of every four college-aged women uses unhealthy methods of weight

cuntrol-including fasting(t fr), skipping meals, excessive exercise, laxative

(F:5)abuse and self-induced vomiting. The pressure to be thin is also affecting

young girls: the Canadian Women's Health Network warns that weight control

measures are now being taken by girls as young as 5 and 6. American statistics are

milar. Several studies. such as one conducted by Marika Tiggemann and Levina

Clark in 2006 titled "Appearance Culture in 9- to 12-year-old Girls. Media and

ter influences on Body Dissatisfaction, "indicate that nearly half of all

Pealaleseent girls wish to be thinner, and as a result have engaged in a diet or are

aware of the concept of dieting. In 2003, Teen magazine reported that 35 percent of

ails 6 to 12 years old have been on at least one diet, and that 50 to 70 percent of

Mig.weight girls believe they are overweight. Overall research indicates that

of women are dissatisfied with their appearance In some way. Media activist

lean kilome coneludes that " Women are sold to the diet industry by the