Dissatisfied with their bodies, some women adopt unhealthy behaviours to achieve a Cindy Crawford or Christy Brinkley figure. Smoking, for example, is heavily used by some women to control weight. Yet, from a health point of view, a non-smoker would have to be severely obese to suffer the same health consequences as a normal weight smoker. Dieting is also taken up by women to control weight. Studies also show that the use of various dieting practices frequently precedes the development of such eating disorders as anorexia and bulimia, which are also on the rise.
Physical activity is a healthier alternative to controlling weight than smoking and dieting.
Unfortunately, a few people use it to achieve an underweight figure instead of maintaining a normal, healthy weight. A quick glance at car or beer commercials is enough to get a hint of the large-scale attacks on women's body esteem. Researchers with a feminist perspective, including Kissling and Wolf, say that male-dominated institutions have been defining beauty for women. This is especially true for poor women, who cannot afford the practices promoted by the diet, cosmetic, fashion and fitness industries. In addition, women's weight and shape are largely determined by genetic factors, not by how hard they work to achieve the cultural ideal, as the advertisers would have us believe.