Every time you walk into a store you are surrounded by the images of emaciated models that appear on the front cover of all fashion magazines. Teenagers need to realize that society's ideal body image is not achievable. The photos we see in magazines are not real either. Many people don't realize that those photos have gone through many touch ups and have been air-brushed to make the models look perfect. Teenagers striving to attain society's unattainable ideal image will just end up increasing their feelings of inadequacy.
Teenagers are under a lot of pressure to be thin.
They are lead to believe that the only way they can be accepted and fit in, is if they are thin. They resort to starving, vomiting and eating only diet foods to try and be thin. Television is a big influence on them. They watch shows like Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place and feel they need to look as thin as the actresses on these shows. Many actresses we see on TV have endured hours of exercise and have deprived themselves of the proper nutrition in order to maintain a thin figure.