Media and Eating Disorders

As our culture has become more obsessed with media in the past ten or so years, it has

become easier for the everyday, regular person to project a distorted image of themselves by

editing, cropping and filtering their pictures, posts, and snapchats. What is the effect of such a

highly edited society? Numerous studies link media as a plausible cause for an increase in

eating disorders among women in recent years. Peter Walters and John Byl in the second

edition of Christian Paths to Health and Wellness state the media as being one of the top five

sociocultural influences of eating disorders (43). The media bombards culture with

unachievably thin body images, makes it easier for unhealthy comparisons, and allows its users

to hide their faults through excessive editing. All of these factors have led to an increase in

eating disorders.

One of the main issues with media is that it promotes unrealistically thin, or fit body

types as the only acceptable standard to achieve. Walters and Byl report that the “media ha[s]

recently portrayed the ideal female body image as more unrealistically thin than in the past”

(43). As a consequence, those of normal and healthy body weight erroneously see themselves

as overweight, which the media has basically depicted as a taboo. Edited photographs, like

those on Facebook, Instagram and other media platforms, set standards for body shapes that

the average person cannot attain. Seeing these edited images leads women to experience an

increase in dissatisfaction with their bodies (Walters and Byl 44-45). A flawed self-perception

paired with an unhealthy discontentment is the perfect recipe for an eating disorder. While

there are many types of eating disorders, and their symptoms vary, the Mayo Clinic announces
that self-critiquing behaviors are an early indication of eating disorders (Eating Disorders:

Symptoms and Causes).

Another issue plaguing the media is the ease with which its users can compare

themselves with the highly-edited and overly thin “ideal” humans. Now that our society is

almost totally digitalized, these unhealthy comparisons can take place in the blink of an eye. A

study done by the National Centre for Eating Disorders in England showed that “About 95% of

people own a TV set and watch for an average of 3-4 hours per day.” By simple calculation, on

the conservative side, that means that a person watches roughly 1,095 hours of TV every year.

That means that for 1,095 hours every year, people are easily exposed to these ultra-thin or

overly-fit “standards”. Seeing these images over and over again eventually leads to comparison

and feelings of dissatisfaction because they aren’t as thin or fit as the ideals. Wendy Spettigue

and Katherine A. Henderson agree: “Magazine articles, television shows, and advertisements

have also created a social context that may contribute to body dissatisfaction and disordered

eating in girls and women” (Eating Disorders and the Role of the Media).

As our culture has become increasingly impacted by the media, it is easy to see how

eating disorders are becoming more prevalent. There does seem to be hope for this epidemic

though. One company, Dove, recently started their Campaign for Real Beauty. This campaign

uses real women in advertisements and commercials hoping to redefine what culture has

distorted as beauty (Walters and Byl 45). If more companies and media platforms started using

real, unedited people in their ads and pictures, it is possible that people would come to accept

and love their bodies instead of criticizing them.

Word count: 578

 Works Cited
Jade, Deanne. "The Media & Eating Disorders." National Centre for Eating Disorders. The
British Medical Association, 2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2016. <http://eating-
disorders.org.uk/information/the-media-eating-disorders/>.
Mayo Clinic Staff. "Eating Disorders: Symptoms and Causes." Mayo Clinic. The Mayo Clinic, 12 Feb.
2016. Web. 19 Apr. 2016. <http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/eating-
disorders/symptoms-causes/dxc-20182875>.
Spettigue, Wendy, and Katherine A. Henderson. "Eating Disorders and the Role of the
Media." The Canadian Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Review. Canadian Academy of
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 13 Feb. 2004. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2533817/>.
Walters, Peter, and John Byl. Christian Paths to Health and Wellness. 2nd ed. Champaign, IL: Human
Kinetics, 2008. Print.