- Two out of five women and one out of five men would trade three to five years of their life to achieve their weight goals.
- In 1970 the average age of a girl who started dieting was 14; by 1990 the average dieting age fell to 8.
- A study found that women overestimate the size of their hips by 16% and their waists by 25%, yet the same women were able to correctly estimate the width of a box.
- After viewing images of female fashion models, seven out of ten women felt more depressed and angry than prior to viewing the images.
- The “ideal” woman - portrayed by models, Miss America, Barbie dolls, and screen actresses - is 5’5, weighs 100 pounds and wears a size 5.
- Young girls are more afraid of becoming fat than they are of nuclear war, cancer, or losing their parents.
- One out of three women and one out of four men are on a diet at any given time. Two thirds of dieters regain the weight within one year and virtually all regain it within five years.
- 35% of occasional dieters progress into pathological dieting.
- The diet industry (diet foods, diet programs, diet drugs, etc.) takes in over $40 billion each year and continues to grow.
- 30% of women chose an ideal body shape that is 20% underweight and an additional 44% chose an ideal body shape that is 10% underweight.
- The average U.S. woman is 5’4” and weighs 140 pounds whereas the average U.S. model is 5’11” and weighs 117 pounds.
I found these statistics on this website: http://www.colorado.edu/StudentGroups/wellness/NewSite/NewBody.html
This is the University of Colorado website. I am so glad universities are teaching about body acceptance. As I have said before, knowledge is the first key to empowerment and change. I think by knowing these devastating statistics it is the first step in changing them.
More to come on body image.
In health and happiness,
AJ
