Influences on Eating Disorders
	It isn't surprising that eating disorders are on the increase because of the value society places on being thin. In North America, women are given the message at a very young age that in order to be happy and successful, they must be thin. Every time you walk into a store you are surrounded by images of very thin models that are on the front of magizine covers. Thoudands of  teenage girls are straving themselves evey minute to try to be that "perfect" figure. The average model wieghs 23% less then the average woman. Maintaing a wieght that is 15% below your expected body wieght fits the expectation for an eating disorder, so most models, according to medical standards, fit into the catagory of having an eating disorder. Teenagers need to realize that society's ideal body image is not realistic. 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 low self-esteem. Teens are under a lot of presure to be thin. They are lead to believe that the only way to be accepted and to fit in, is if they are  thin. They resort to starving themselves, vomiting after meals and eating only diet foods to try to be thin. Television is a BIG influence on them. They watch shows like Friends and feel they need to look as thin as the actors on shows like these. Many of the actresses we see on TV have gone through extreme exercise programs and have deprived themselves of the proper nutrition in order to maintain a thin figure. Some even resort to plastic surgery, liposuction and breast implants. Society is brain washing young people into believing that being thin is important and necessary.      Dieting commercials are constantly appearing on our TV screens telling us that once we lose the wieght, we will be happy. Each month another new diet appears claiming to be the diet to end all diets. Dieting has become an obsession in North America. We spend billions of dollars each year trying to look the way society tells us we need to look. The truth of the matter is that DIETS DON'T WORK! As soon as you start to diet, you automatically set yourself up for failure. Many of the diets on the market right now are also unhealthy. They deprive you of the proper nutrtion that your body needs to survive and these diets can lead heath problems.      The diet and fashion industries are not totally to blame for society's obession with thinness. We are the ones keeping them in bussiness. We buy into the idea that we can attain the "ideal" body image. We allow ourselves to believe the lies being thrown at us constantly. We buy their magazines, diet books and products, hoping that this time they will work. We are throwing away our hard earned money to live up the standards that set for us. Be prepared to spend lots of money on your quest for the perfect diet and be prepared to never find it, because there isn't one.      It's unfortunate, but in today's society, people have forgotten that it's what inside a person the counts, not what's on the outside. We need to start loving and accepting each other for who were are, not what we look like. Next time you decide that you are going to start another diet because you feel you are too fat, stop, sign up for a self-esteem class instead. That would be money well spent. If we learn to love and accept ourselves, we will also being to love our bodies no matter what size we are.      Parents need to teach their children the value of heathy eating and not send the message that being thin is important. Many children, under the age of 10, are becoming obsessed with dieting and their image. We need to continue to encourage and support our children, especially teenagers.       Once again, we like to stress that diets don't work. Eating three healthy meals a day, a few snacks and doing moderate exercises will allow your body to go to it's natural set point. It's important to remember that no food will make you fat, as long as it's eaten in moderation. Stop buying fashion magazines and diet products, stop believing all the lies that are told to you buy the fashion and diet indrusty. Instead, focus on learning to love and accept yourself for who you are.  No number on a scale or fitting into a smaller dress size will make you happy.  Happiness can only come from within. See references for sources.