America's Next Top Model: Eating Disorder

2085 Words5 Pages

Long slender legs, slim figure and size zero hips , that stunning runway model on America’s Next Top Model is the motivation for staying in shape. Appallingly, this motivation is the primary cause of life threatening eating disorders in our young women today. According to a research, 95 % of those suffering from eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25, the primary audience of Fashion modeling television shows. 70% of girls from grades 5 to 12 say magazine images of fashion models influence their ideals of perfect body. Fashion Modeling Industry has been the most influential source in our young women’s lives. Young girls and young women are seen eating as little as they can, even starving themselves at times to stay fit. Susan Albers, a psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic said exposure to thin models is a great trigger in maintaining an eating disorder. When watching America’s Next Top Model or flipping through a Fashion magazine, these young women don’t apprehend that those models are either naturally slim or are suffering from an eating disorder themselves. Our young women are growing up in a society where they are not comfortable to eat what they crave without regret. To worsen the situation, Victoria Secret models pose in their bikinis in advertisements, building up guilt in young minds. The fashion modeling industry is a leading contributing factor to the increasing number of eating disorders in young females today. Fashion modeling industry is the main source which exposes underweight models on runways and advertisements. Rather than sending the positive message beauty is health, the industry is giving out negative directives to its audience. It is influencing them to believe that being size zero is the only de... ... middle of paper ... .... 2013. . Pearson, Catherine. "Fashion And Eating Disorders: How Much Responsibility Does Industry Have?." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 13 Sept. 2011. Web. 4 Dec. 2013. . Poulsen, Debra . "Stop killing our daughters by hiring anorexic models, US modeling agencies." change.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2013. . "Should the Fashion Industry Regulate Underweight Models?." About.com Women's Fashion. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2013. "Thinspiration-Quotes." Pinterest. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2013. .

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