The Relation of Media and Diet between all Female Essay Example for Free

The Relation of Media and Diet between all Female Essay Introduction Problem and its Background Media plays a strong influence on our current social, physical, cultural, spiritual and emotional environment. It is undeniable fact that such intervention has played its utmost part in the development of human culture and society. The various concepts, and colliding ideas and principles are all part of media’s extensive influences. The power of such images flashed in televisions, advertisements, newspapers, and many forms of information relaying system have attained easy formations of trends and social patterns that are primarily an influential figure in the society. Most often than not, these fad triggers the fashion trends, social perspective establishments and most of all, beliefs and concepts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As for this paper, the topic mainly involves the formation of such fad in diet by the influences dealt by every form of media. The social patterns are easily distinguished; however, plays a complex move of action among issues involved. Diet is one of the primary influence products of the media. There are various factors that create such fad and trigger it in the society. Most often than not, these factors captivate the attention and the curiosity of these health-conscious or in worst case, eating impaired individuals or those with eating disorders, and subjects them in such trends of diet. Scope and Limitations  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the course of this paper, the following questions are answered using a comprehensive interpretation and analysis that are incorporated in the whole discussion. Each statement is supported by objective data that involves such causation. The following are the objectives of the study imposed in this paper. These queries serve as the primary scope and limitations, as well as objective of the whole study; hence, the whole study revolves only in these posted queries. Do the media play and evident role in terms of influence towards the diet patterns established in the individuals particularly females? If so, provide basis and supporting data in these claims. What are the specific forms of media that affect the formation of such diet trends and primarily influences females? Discussion Historical Perspective Throughout the twentieth century, we can observe many changes in the world of the fashion, beauty industry and most especially diet regimen that are primarily marketed most significantly to women. In specific angles, the physical shape and characteristics of the women portrayed in advertisements have greatly influenced the perspective of the women in today’s time. The female image in the media has changed from being voluptuous and curvaceous in the 1940’s and 1950’s to becoming busty and narrow-hipped from late 1960’s through the 1980’s (Straight 2005, p.12). Today the fad of physical appearance is most evidently slim with manifesting curvatures. These physical appearance has greatly molded the type of diet instilled to women especially those who are very much indulged in achieving such body form. The obsession of such fad has started its move in North America dated 1920’s. the creation   of such fad, which is having an appropriately sized and proportioned body, have increased the women’s self value and esteem from herself, peers, opposite sex and the community itself. Therefore, in order to maintain such physical feature, women require themselves to focus on the rightful diet regimen utilized as well by the fad model in which they patterned their physical interest (Straight 2005, p.13). Media Influences Diet Media is not only limited to visual entertainment but also literature, which is also an influencing factor for diet regimen for females. Diet books, as a genre, became particularly one of the fads in 1950’s and 1960’s, and are considered to be one of the main influencing form of media that influences diet. During this time, some of the best-seller books that have been published are Calories Don’t Count, The Quick Weight Loss Diet and Dr. Atkin’s Diet Revolution, all of which have sold millions of copies, making their authors more like celebrities in their own right through promising readers a way to lose weight quickly and easily (Seale, 2002 p.193). In fact, weight loss programs, diet books, and media advertisements for diet products gave been greatly increasing and expanding now a days. Women are treating these forms of media as their cosmetic fad or indulgence. The fact is diet Medias is one of the increasing multibillion-dollar industries in our current time. As diet commercials have increased, the body size of Playboy centerfolds and Miss America contestants has decreased to the point where many of these individuals, according to the latest research evidences, meet the weight criteria for anorexia nervosa, which is an eating disorder characterized by psychological disinterest of eating due to excessive consciousness in weight and body image (Costin, 1999 p.54). In addition to this scenario, celebrity exercises and diet videos, and computer software are becoming part of the media’s diet revolution. Since these celebrity icons and famous personalities provide public attraction to the regimen being endorsed, the media has been utilizing these in order to gain their consumer’s trust. With a few positive role models for fat people, and stress on an increasingly thin ideal female body shape, it is understandable that a number of researchers have been concerned to establish links between media portrayals, diet regimen itself, and eating disorders. The results have obtained out of these studies, and show that such influence really exists, or at least symbiotically related to body shape ideals that circulate in the culture (Seale, 2002 p.193). The media now carries a wealth of messages that reinforce thinness. Another study found that media exposure has been directly and indirectly linked to occurrence of signs and symptoms of various eating disorders, internalization of ideal-body stereotypes, and gender-role endorsement (Perse, 2001 p.183). Another study enforces that these medias utilized in the United States induces dissatisfaction with body shape; hence, providing motivational reason for these individuals to engage in such king of diet routine (Seale, 2002 p.193). Conclusion In the end of the statement, it has been proved that media plays a significant role that affects motivation, indulgence, and interest of these diet regimens. Such fad has been induced by media long before history can tell, and as the media evolves, it continues to produce another varying image that conforms to what society prefers according to the advertisements placed by these media. However, the concept of this fad has been linked to various eating disorders, concluding that such influence of media can be either beneficial or destructive. Reference Straight, B. A. (2005). The Two Finger Diet: How the Media Has Duped Women Into Hating Themselves. iUniverse. Seale, C. (2002). Media and Health. Sage Publications Inc. Costin, C. (1999). The Eating Disorder Sourcebook: A Comprehensive Guide to the Causes, Treatments and Preventions of Eating Disorder. McGraw-Hill Professional. Perse, E. M. (2001). Media Effects and Society. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.