Page 76 - Battleground The Media Volume 1 and 2

Body Image |

important (as in the 1950s and again in the 1980s), women with somewhat fuller
figures (especially in terms of large breasts) were perceived as more desirable and
attractive. The “tyranny of slenderness” (in Kim Chernin’s phrase) that began
at the turn of the twentieth century has been amplified in recent decades with
chemical diets and surgery in an ever-escalating pursuit of the “perfect body.”
Men’s bodies, too, are subject to cultural demands and expectations. Men are
often expected to demonstrate their self-discipline and control by their size and
shape also, but in the form of increased bulk and muscle rather than by adher-
ence to a “thin ideal.” Rather than starving or purging themselves to attain a
body ideal, men may be more likely to engage in demanding exercise regimes to
develop muscle mass. The feeling that one’s body is never big or strong enough
can lead to a condition known as “muscle dysmorphia.” Getting bigger can also
be achieved by overeating or binge eating. According to the NIMH, between
2 and 5 percent of Americans struggle with binge eating, an eating disorder that
also affects more women than men.

ovErwEighT anD oBEsiTy
According to recent studies, more than 65 percent of adult Americans (men
and women age 20 and older) are overweight, with about 30 percent of this
group being classified as obese (at least 20 percent above normal weight as mea-
sured by the BMI). Although some individuals consider the “obesity epidemic”
to be exaggerated, arguing that BMI measures can be inaccurate and that excess
weight alone is not necessarily a health problem, medical studies have linked
overweight and obesity to increased risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high
blood pressure, and stroke. While more men (67 percent) than women (62 per-
cent) are overweight, women are more likely to be obese. Overweight and obe-
sity are found among every population group, but these conditions are more
prevalent among people of color (Hispanics, African Americans, American In-
dians/Alaska Natives, and Pacific Islanders) and among low-income individu-
als. Additionally, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), almost 9 million children ages 6 to 19 (about 15 percent of children in
the United States) are obese. Because obesity rates are increasing faster than ge-
netics alone can account for, most researchers studying this phenomenon look
to eating disorders (especially binge eating) as well as changes in the foods we
eat as the chief culprits.
The food industry in the United States is a trillion-dollar business, with over
7 billion spent on advertising each year. Typically, the foods most heavily ad-
vertised in the United States are the cheapest as well as the most calorie-dense:
processed foods filled with sweeteners and fats (soft drinks, candy, and snack
foods) that are generally lacking in nutritive value. With thousands of new
food products introduced into grocery stores each year, the food industry must
work hard to persuade consumers to eat more. Appeals used in food advertising
rarely concern the taste, nutritive value, or ingredients of foods. Instead, food is
linked to much stronger emotional appeals. Bordo and Kilbourne both analyze
the ways in which food advertising heightens women’s anxieties about weight