Contagious Diets

“Dying to be Thin?” This title caught my attention on the cover of the latest issue of People magazine on the stand at the grocery store. As I waited in line, I grazed the pages of this magazine and saw article after article depicting the lives and styles of thin celebrities. The feature article boasted of the most popular celebrity crazes to be excessively thin. It showed pictures of these celebs growing increasingly skinnier and talked about the health risks that came along with being too skinny. Yet, on the pages separating the article, there were ads for diet pills and workout techniques. I could not understand the contradiction between the messages that were being sent to the readers. Although the article spoke negatively of excessive diets, there was still the message being sent to loose weight. Our society, especially women, is under constant pressure to be thin. Celebrities and models are the role models for our society, but they send a false message. Many of the women models are naturally thin, diet excessively, or their pictures are edited. The media idolizes their bodies, which makes women think that that is the ideal way to look. The pressure to be thin is an on going problem, and there are more and more cases of women being treated for eating disorders. I do not think that the media should continue to promote the need to be thin. Not everyone is naturally skinny and can pull off a size 2. Magazines should promote healthy eating and normal looking models, in order to help boost self-confidence among the readers. Unfortunately, being super skinny is the “in” thing right now and the craze will continue spread.