The biggest factor that shaped this idea to women is the media, especially TV commercials. Through good looking images of models, girls are obviously influenced to be like them too. Losing weight is among their first steps to successfully fit into a model’s look.
However, this often results to disappointments about their own appearances due to unrealistic expectations. Barbie doll-like images are obviously hard to achieve. In turn, worrying about weight and how to get the best look leads to a negative body image that can also affect self-esteem.
Body image refers to the mental representation of what we think about our body and how we feel about ourselves. It may be different or the same to what or how others see us. It is also the total of our personality, experiences, and cultural and social influences.
Those who have a poor body image try to change their bodies in every possible way just to achieve their dream body figure. These include dieting or the advanced method of surgery. But a negative perception of a woman about her body is said to create a mental disorder such as eating disorders or depression. Garfinkel and Garner study showed that people, who were more expected to be thin, such as dancers and models, were more likely to have anorexia or appetite loss.
All of us want to be attractive, of course. However, healthy body image does not necessarily talks about appearance. Being thin does not always mean beautiful and being fat is not automatically mean ugly. In fact, figures and shapes do not accurately distinguish ill and healthy people. Perhaps a positive perception about your appearance helps you to have not only positive body image but positive lifestyle as well.
