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Reading Weight Loss Articles Could Affect Teenagers

Heather said: "I found an article about [URL="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070102/ap_on_he_me/diet_girls_magazines"]teen girls reading articles about weight loss[/URL] and thought it be of interest to everyone here. What are your thoughts on teenagers reading weight loss articles in magazines? I can honestly say that just about every woman's magazine has an article or two about "walking off the pounds" etc."

Heather said: "I think those sites are horrible. Being a girl today has to be a lot more complicated these days. It seems to me a child with low self esteem would be more likely to get involved in these types of disorders. Missred.. I'm happy to hear that your friend was able to intervene with her daughter. 13 years old is so young to be worrying about this sort of stuff!"

UniqueMystique said: "I guess I wasn't wired like most teenagers are. My dad told me one day that I needed to start doing sit-ups for a few minutes on a daily basis because I was getting a pudgy middle. I wore a size 0 at the time too! I was never one to talk back to my dad....but that day I did. I looked at him, rolled my eyes, and said, "If I need to do a few minutes worth every day then you need to do them every day non-stop" and I went to my room. He never said another word about it. Then on the other side of the coin I had my grandmother telling me that I was way too skinny and that I needed to start eating more! I ATE as a teen....ate whatever I wanted....it just didn't show up on my body until my mid-20's......hehehehe."

UniqueMystique said: "Spectra.....I guess my hormones kicked in at that moment cuz I just wasn't like that with my parents. But to have a guy who had a round belly (he was trim everywhere else....muscular legs, back and arms....just had that round, taut belly) tell skinny assed me that I needed to do sit-ups just didn't set well. I didn't have to worry about my weight until my last two years of college...that's when I started going up sizes and couldn't get a handle on how to stop it."

spectrachic311 said: "[QUOTE]My dad told me one day that I needed to start doing sit-ups for a few minutes on a daily basis because I was getting a pudgy middle. I wore a size 0 at the time too! I was never one to talk back to my dad....but that day I did. I looked at him, rolled my eyes, and said, "If I need to do a few minutes worth every day then you need to do them every day non-stop" and I went to my room. He never said another word about it.[/QUOTE] Hahaha!! That's awesome. I would never have the guts to say that to my dad. Then again, my dad would NEVER tell me to lose weight ever. I personally think that those weight loss articles are definitely dangerous and can definitely lead to ED behaviors. When I was 12, puberty hit me like a ton of bricks...I got hips, breasts, a period, and 20 extra pounds that just sort of showed up. I immediately wanted to be skinny but my parents assured me I was fine just how I was. I actually never really cared about my body until I was in college and found myself with the dilemma of having to buy a whole new wardrobe because I gained 30 lbs in 3 months. Still though, I think most of those "articles" promote weight loss, not necessarily better health. We should be encouraging teens to be active and eat less junk, but they need to be realistic about things. A 5'3" girl is never going to have a model's body, no matter how skinny she gets. She'll always want to look thinner and taller. I found that one out for myself the hard way. Once I hit my goal weight, I still didn't really feel like my body was "right" because my legs still looked too short and my boobs weren't as huge as the models' were. Luckily, I had the self esteem to realize that my body is just fine the way it is and that I'll never look like a model."

klynnfosh said: "I would have to agre that ads put the image in young girls minds that they need to lose weight even when they can be normal weight. I think that parents of any teens should encourge them to eat healthy and if we are lacking in that area we try to improve and teach them better. Weight problems for alot of us began at a young age. We were taught to eat what was in front of us and we were rewarded with food for good grades, good behavior, etc. I for one think I went on my first diet at 14, when you see other girls being popular in school and getting attention and you are not you begin to look at yourself. My mom was another loving mom who had weight problems as well, and she did several diets but even when she was at her smallest she was not happy. She developed diabetes and then forbidding foods made it worse. I have to say we need to teach our kids if we eat healthy 90% of the time and allow our self treats for special occasions and outings is normal and a way we can eat the rest of our lives. Body image is hard for teens that are changing and growing and then celebs are put on a pedastal for being perfect and then they think they need to do whatever it takes to be perfect model size which for most wont happen without extreme measures. This only sets the cycle for teaching their children the wrong way to deal with their own body images, the cycle has to be broken and with education in our schools and in teen magazines maybe the message will change the way teens work on their body images. We are an obese nation and ever growing so we need a better education of health and nutrition to get the message across."

missred said: "This is a huge problem. The pro-ana sites that Lakelady mentioned are so scary! I wrote a blog about them on myspace, but I checked them out and read through some of the journals first. Most were by teens, and I was appalled and saddened. Exercise and getting fit is wonderful to push, but dieting? Diets can so easily get out of hand, especially when these magazines (womens too) feature methods that we here at Featherish know are unreastic and often unhealthy. Also, they make people expect some miracle! It doesn't work that way. If so many women get confused and caught up in the race to be "thin and pretty", of course teens are. There aren't enough positive messages about body image out there, and it certainly doesn't help when every page is filled with 5'10", super-skinny models either. A friend of mine has a 13 year old daughter. She noticed that her daughter was spending a lot of time working out and watching what she was eating. Concerned, she talked to her daughter, who said that she wanted to have a perfect body and be a model. She even revealed a stash of diet and workout articles under her mattress! My friend was able to put a positive spin and control the situation, but not all parents seem to be in tune with what their daughters are thinking (and even teen boys are into this too) and doing. Esp. not those who have children using these pro-ana sites!"

angel_rising said: "Every aspect of media is out of control when it comes to body image. One of our local radio personalities here is advertising weight loss drugs that supposedly helped her lose 20 lbs. I have seen pics of her before and after. She looked fine before, and now she looks almost like a skeleton. I think that people in all aspects of media should really take a look at what is healthy and aim for that. The media should be held accountable for the effect it has on todays youth."

lakelady said: "well, that depends on what you mean, Heather. I'm all in favor of articles encouraging exercise. The obesity rate in teens (though, admittedly, mostly boys) is ALARMING! I'm in favor of our girls taking part in all the physical activities they can as teens, then when they NEED to exercise in later years, they have an inkling. However, I do NOT like the influence on our girls of the emaciated look of models, nor the encouragement of get thin quick schemes. They are dangerous. I also object to the ads for diet pills in the back of magazines aimed at teen girls. What alarms me the MOST is all the pro-anorexia sites on the internet!!! Check some of these sites out moms! They actually PROMOTE the anorexic lifestyle, give tips on how to hide it from your parents, defend it as a LIFESTYLE CHOICE (!), etc. Just google 'pro-ana' You'll be shocked! I'd rather have them look at porn, and I'm NOT kidding!"

**Shorti** said: "I believe it starts before that. Way back in 1996 at age 12 I started to become obsessed with my weight. When my dad looked at me one day and told me I should spend some time on the Norditrack machine (remember those ski-cardio machines before they came out with ellipticals). When your own father tells his 12 year old daughter to loose weight... it makes an impression. Ever since then I have had a negative body image and rightly so sometimes. I think weight issues start around 6-8 years of age. Thats when kids are starting to really "see" each other. Thats when they start comparing themselves to one another. If weight problems arent corrected by this age, then I think the girls will continue to have weight problems for the rest of their lives."