According to the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA), “80% of women are unhappy with their appearance and approximately 45% of women are dieting on any given day. The media promotes an unhealthy image of beauty to women that is damaging to society. It is also changing the perspective on body image which is resulting in an obsession with becoming super thin.” On one side of the issue, there are people that believe the media is responsible for the increase of eating disorders; on the other side, there are people that believe the media is not responsible for the increase of eating disorders.

One reason that people believe the media is responsible for the increase of eating disorders is due to the magazines, tv commercials, and social media that is promoting the image “Thin Is Beautiful”. The media focuses so much on the "perfect body type” and they are constantly picking on those who aren't a certain size, or look a certain way when it comes to weight. It's not very often you see an actress or model that is overweight or even average size. According to the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA), “this obsession has contributed to an increase in eating disorders, low self-esteem, and depression among women in the United States”.

Another reason that people believe the media is to blame for the increase of eating disorders is because the media is constantly putting pictures of celebrities in magazines, calling them fat and saying that in order for them to feel good about themselves, they need to become skinnier. According to the NEDA, “Advertising campaigns with pencil-thin models are partly to blame and it contributes to feelings of inadequacy, low self-esteem, and depression”. There are constantly pictures of flat stomachs and thigh gaps on social media, but the reality is that those “perfect bodies” are often sickly obtained and are rarely natural in a woman. Most of the time, those “perfect bodies” that we see on the covers of magazines and on tv, have been photoshopped to make the person look thinner and absolutely “perfect”. The National Association for Anorexia Nervosa reports data from a number of studies showing that 47 percent of middle-school and high-school girls want to lose weight because of images in magazines. The people in magazines are photoshopped to be absolutely ‘perfect’, and every reader wants to look like that, even though being that perfect is unnatural.

The media is constantly advertising clothes, make up, accessories, shoes, etc. and we rarely see a girl or a woman who is overweight in those commercials. By doing that, the media is giving young girls and any woman out there for that matter, the idea that being skinny is beautiful. Very rarely do we see larger women as the lead roles in television shows and movies because according to the media, being plus-sized means that you aren’t beautiful.

There are others who disagree saying that the media does not contribute to the increase of eating disorders. One reason some people believe that the media is not responsible for the increase of eating disorders is because there have been investigators that have done research and have found out that there is a possible link between eating disorders and genes that produce the neurotransmitter called serotonin. Low serotonin activity contributes directly to eating disorders - for example, by causing the body to crave and binge on high-carbohydrate foods (Kaye, 2012, 2011, 2005, 2002, 2000 cited in Comer, 2013, 2012)). On the other hand, if a person has a high serotonin level, it may cause them to restrict the intake of calories to starvation level, which would give them a sense of “regaining control.” People with low or high serotonin levels may feel “driven” towards eating or not eating because it makes them feel better emotionally.

Another reason some people don’t believe that the media is responsible for the increase of eating disorders is because they believe that eating disorders can be influenced by family. Relatives of people with eating disorders are up to six times more likely than other individuals to develop the disorders themselves (Thornton, 2011; Strober, 2001, 2000 cited in Comer, 2013, 2012)). A person is more likely to develop an eating disorder if somebody in their family is very concerned with how they look or with how their body looks. Research suggests that close to half of the families that have had anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa in their family, have had a long history of emphasizing thinness, physical appearance, and dieting. Salvador Minuchin, a family theorist, believes that when family members are over involved in each other's affairs and over concerned with the details of each other’s lives, it can often lead to eating disorders (Olson, 2011; Minuchin cited in Comer, 2012, 2012)).

Another factor that can cause a person to develop an eating disorder is if a person spends a lot of time around somebody that thinks the most important thing is to be thin; by somebody else thinking in that mindset, that can influence and pressure somebody into feeling the same way. According to Bridget Engel, Psy.D. of SevenCounties.org, “Research also indicates that families of individuals with eating disorders tend to be overprotective, perfectionistic, rigid, and focused on success. If children perceive that they are failing to live up to family expectations, they may turn to something that seems more easily controlled and at which they may be more successful, such as food restriction or weight loss.”

To sum it up, some people strongly believe that the media is to blame for the increase of eating disorders in our country. People blame magazines, tv commercials, and social media that promotes that “Thin Is Beautiful”. They also blame media for most of the time, advertising with skinny people and for photoshopping all of the “imperfections” out of people. On the other hand, some people strongly believe the media has nothing to do with the increase of eating disorders. Research showed that somebody with low serotonin activity can cause a person to develop an eating disorder, mainly because it causes their body to crave and binge on high carbohydrate foods. Eating disorders can also be influenced by family members that are overly concerned with how their body looks and if a person spends a lot of time around somebody that thinks the most important thing is to be thin.

I personally believe media has the biggest influence for the increase of eating disorders. Magazines, commercials, and even social media shove being skinny in one's face. The teenage girl obsession with the "thigh gap" or being able to pinch "fat" that is actually just skin is ridiculous. The media portrayal of a "perfect" woman as being extremely thin and tall, can have serious effects on girls who do not meet those unspoken standards. Those girls may think they need to be a certain weight or measurement in order to be beautiful, so they develop an eating disorder which only leads them further and further into an unhealthy figure. The same can go for guys as well; men are often portrayed as super muscular and fit, so a guy may restrict their diet and use other unhealthy methods to acquire the "perfect" male body. The people in magazines are photoshopped to be absolutely “perfect”, and every reader wants to look like that, even though being that perfect is unnatural. If the media were to use models that looked a little more like humans and a little less “perfect”, I believe people would have a little more self confidence.

Everytime I pass by a magazine rack, most, if not all, of the covers have a beautiful, thin, and "perfect" (photoshopped) woman on the cover. I think that the "plus size" women need to be promoted more not as "plus size" but as normal, healthy women. I also think that instead of "dropping pounds to get skinny", people should focus more on "dropping the necessary pounds to become healthier”. I think that the media also needs to turn its attention away from the physical beauty aspect of everything and focus more on self-esteem and encouraging women to be healthy and fit. I think there should be more realistic actresses in society today. They don't have to be huge, but they shouldn’t be stick thin as to where they could be on drugs. I think that Jennifer Lawrence is an amazing role model for young girls and young adults! She obviously isn’t fat but she does let everyone know her love for food and she doesn’t care about what society thinks of her. Overall, I think that society today needs to take a step back and rethink what really is important...to be skinny and have possible health risks for the rest of your life OR to be happy with the way that you look, to live a normal, healthy life and to embrace who YOU are and be happy with the body you have.