Women in the U.S. are under pressure to measure up to a certain social and cultural ideal of beauty, which can lead to poor body image. Women are constantly bombarded with "Barbie Doll-like" images. By presenting an ideal that is so difficult to achieve and maintain, the cosmetic and diet product industries are assured of growth and profits. It's no accident that youth is increasingly promoted, along with thinness, as an essential criterion of beauty. The message we're hearing is either "all women need to lose weight" or that the natural aging process is a "disastrous" fate.
Other pressures can come from the people in our lives.
- Family and friends can influence your body image with positive and negative comments.
- A doctor's health advice can be misinterpreted and affect how a woman sees herself and feels about her body.
This answer is based on source information from The National Women's Health Information Center.
Women in the U.S. are under pressure to measure up to a certain
social and cultural ideal of beauty, which can lead to poor body
image. Women are constantly bombarded with "Barbie Doll-like"
images. By presenting an ideal that is so difficult to...
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Piedmont Heart Institute answered:Women in the U.S. are under pressure to measure up to a certain social and cultural ideal of beauty, which can lead to poor body image. Women are constantly bombarded with "Barbie Doll-like" images. By presenting an ideal that is so difficult to achieve and maintain, the cosmetic and diet product industries are assured of growth and profits. It's no accident that youth is increasingly promoted, along with thinness, as an essential criterion of beauty. The message we're hearing is either "all women need to lose weight" or that the natural aging process is a "disastrous" fate.
