The Real People

Dear Reader,

Maybe you are wondering if this blog is important to you? How does the issue of the media's portrayal of bodies affect you? The truth is, this issue affects everyone, not just teenage girls.

After all, as of the Spring 2009, 74% of Us Weekly readers were female and 26% were male. Females, you may experience negative body image issues or have loved ones who do. Males, you may have a distorted image of female beauty, feel inadequate compared to the men you see on magazine covers, or have a daughter, wife, mother, or sister who has been influenced by this unrealistic image of beauty. While I will discuss other affected groups later on, I do want to touch on the group that most people think of when they think "eating disorder."

When I thought about creating this blog, females ages 13-24 automatically came into my mind as a target audience. While the average age of the Us reader is 31 years old, 26% of readers are between the ages of 18 and 24. The official demographics do not include people younger than 18, but do you think that means young girls do not read the magazine? According to NationalEatingDisorders.org, 60% of Caucasian middle school girls read at least one fashion magazine regularly.

The National Institute of Public Health reports that over 90% of people with eating disorders are adolescent and young adult women, many of who go on strict diets to "achieve an "ideal" figure." Let me ask you this: do you think the cover of Us featuring a very thin Jessica Simpson promotes a healthy weight? Or does it promote dieting and a nearly impossible image of beauty?

If it is known that Us Weekly appeals to young girls, and if it is known that young girls are the most at-risk for eating disorders, then why put strict diet tips and pictures of extremely thin celebrities in the magazine? Adolescence already comes with a variety of struggles - fitting in, acne, sex, school, etc. This should not be about selling magazines. With 1-2 out of every 100 students struggling with an eating disorder at some point in their life (according to kidshealth.org), this should be a public health concern.