A negative body image is disfiguring …

1. People with a negative body image have a greater likelihood of developing an eating disorder and are more likely to suffer from feelings of depression, isolation, low self-esteem, and obsessions with weight loss. (National Eating Disorders Association)

2. Research has shown that daughters are more likely to have ideas about dieting when their mothers diet. (The National Women’s Health Information Center)

3. Women are so dissatisfied with their bodies in American society that it’s almost considered normal. (Cindy Maynard in “Body Image”)

4. Most psychologists who treat body image say that the first step is recognizing the problem, and acknowledging that it comes from a society that places ridiculous demands on women to fit an impossible mold of beauty. (Laura Fraser in an article, “Women: Building a Better Body Image”, 2002)

5. An estimated 40 - 50 percent of US women are trying to lose weight at any given moment. (National Eating Disorders Association)

6. In 2003 Teen magazine reported that 35 percent of girls six to 12 years of age, have been on at least one diet and that 50 – 70 percent of normal weight girls believe they are overweight.

7. One out of every four college aged women uses unhealthy methods of weight control including fasting, skipping meals, excessive exercise, laxative abuse and self induced vomiting. (Anorexia Nervosa Related Eating Disorders Inc.)

8. Women’s magazines have 10 ½ times more ads and articles promoting weight loss than men’s magazines. (Andersen & DiDomenico, 1992)

9. The number one wish of girls 11-17 years is to lose weight. (Body Wars: Making Peace with Women’s Bodies, by Margo Maine, PhD, Gurze Books, 2000)