Facts and Figures
Young girls are more afraid of becoming fat than they are of nuclear war, cancer or losing their parents 1
If the average male model had the same proportions as the average female model he’d be 6’5” and 160 lbs 2
If Barbie was life-sized her waist would be 18 inches and she wouldn’t menstruate 3
One study found that if GI Joe Extreme was life-sized he would have larger biceps than any body builder in history 4
Twenty years ago the average fashion model weighed 8% less than the average American woman. Today she weighs 23% less 3
NZ research with fifteen year olds indicated that although 75% were ‘healthy weights’ 68% of all girls wanted to weigh less 5
NZ research found that 54% of girls reported dieting – most having started prior to the age of 13 years 6
Children who’s food intake is restricted gain weight in the long run 7
Exposure to dieting-related media is associated with psycho-social distress and unhealthy dieting for young women 8
A British study found that girls reacted to weight teasing by taking up dieting 9
One study of adolescents found that 5-20% of boys reported restrained eating, vomiting, laxative abuse or smoking cigarettes for weight control 10
A longitudinal study published in 1999 showed that girls who dieted severely were 18 times more likely to develop an eating disorder 11
There is much evidence to suggest that maintenance of a high but stable weight is safer than weight fluctuations 12
The U.S. Institute of Medicine found that those who lose weight on diets regain two thirds of the weight they lost within one year, and almost all of it within five years 13
Quick weight loss schemes are among the most common consumer frauds and diet programmes have the highest customer dissatisfaction of any service industry 1
Men are under increasing pressure to meet the ideal body. There has been a 20% increase in the usage of cosmetic surgery and a 37% increase in the purchase of grooming products by men over the last five years 14
1 Council of Size & Weight Discrimination (1996)
2 ECHO, Harvard University
3 Maine, M. (2000). Body Wars: Making Peace With Women’s Bodies.
4 Pope, Olivardia, Gruber & Borowiecki (1999).
5 Worsley, Worsley, McConnon & Silva (1990).
6 Fear, Bulik & Sullivan (1996).
7 Field et al (2003).
8 Utter, Newmrak-Sztainer, Wall, & Story (2003).
9 Hill & Murphy (2003).
10 O’Dea et al (1996).
11 Patton et al (1999)
12 Garner & Wooley (1991).
13 International No Diet Day Handbook (1996)
14 Body Image and health Inc. Victoria, Australia
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