The pressure to be thin

Twenty years ago, the average model weighed 8 per cent less than the average woman—but today’s models weigh 23 per cent less. And her image is airbrushed and photoshopped to make her look even more unreal. Don't forget what the photographer Rankin (who did the Dove adverts) says about fashion photography "It is an art form and should not be taken seriously". See my blog of 4 August 2009.

The Canadian Media Awareness Network has some interesting things to say about the pressure to be thin - mostly the pressure on women to be thin. They note the high value of the diet industry - £60 billion - depends on us feeling bad about our bodies so that we go to their classes, buy their food. Did you know that Weight Watchers food products are sold to us by Kraft?

This ideal of women's beauty is a Western ideal, but it is now spreading internationally. Television, showing lots of Western films and shows, is affecting women everywhere. Look at this research article in the Royal College of Psychiatrists journal on the effect of television on teenage girls in Fiji. It shows that disordered eating - fasting, anorexia, bulimia - is one of the effects of prolonged television viewing.

I will bang on about women's magazines later. Hypnotherapy helps you get a clearer idea of what is normal, what you can achieve, and how to be happy with how you are. Make changes where change is possible and necessary, and learn to accept the rest, and be happy.

www.carolinebrowntherapy.com