Viewpoint by Sarah McVean/photo editor
The body image the media and fashion industry are promoting for women is unrealistic.
Even cover girls who fit the industry’s standards still think, “I’m not skinny enough” or “I’m not pretty enough.”
Actress/model Eva Mendes has recently checked herself into rehab for cocaine abuse.
Mendes is one of the most beautiful women on the planet. On the outside, she seems to be flawless, but she is not a size zero and her build is that of a real woman.
According to US Weekly, Mendes kept her insecurities and drug use behind closed doors and was not a mess in public.
She has a lot of low self-esteem and body issues, a source close to Mendes said, and she thought cocaine would make her feel more confident and stay skinny.
Her actions are a travesty.
Many commercials we see on TV relate to weight-loss: popular diets, gym memberships, the best ways to lose 10 pounds in two weeks, the newest diet pills.
Every year more than $1.3 billion is spent on dietary weight-loss supplements. Nearly 10 percent of men and more than 20 percent of women have used nonprescription weight-loss supplement, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.
Most weight-loss pills have little or no scientifically acceptable testing for effectiveness and safety, especially when used for months.
Women in our culture are obsessed with that unachievable goal. There is no healthy way to reach it.
Of U.S. women surveyed, 56 percent said they would rather have a thinner waist than a higher IQ, according toFitness magazine.
Skinny is in.
I recently read a friend’s Facebook, which in her about me she had written, “I am also working on getting into better shape–size 4 just doesn’t cut it these days.”
This statement is a fine example of how weight obsession is impacting the college age group.
Each campus has a gym open six days a week. All you need to get in is a copy of your schedule and a picture ID.
Healthy ways of making us look and feel better would be the obvious: eating healthier and exercising.
But we should do it for ourselves. If we are happy with our curves, then that’s all that matters.
