Women Dieting & Eating Disorder Facts

Studies show that by time we are 45yrs old we have been on over 60 diets from the time we were teenagers, that just makes me sad. That means the average women has been on at least 2 diets a year. If you can relate then it has to stop because we are leaving the next generation with the wrong message. We need to stop and start taking care of ourselves now and be the example not the statistic.  Read on and see some of the facts that we have created because of our belief system.

Facts

• 80% of women who answered a People magazine survey responded that images of women on television and in the movies make them feel insecure.

• Two out of five women and one out five men would trade three to five years of their life to achieve their weight goals.

• In one study, three out of four women stated that they were overweight although only one out of four actually were.

• In 1970 the average age a girl started dieting was 14; by 1990 the average dropped to 8.

• A study asked children to assign attractiveness values to pictures of children with various disabilities. The participants rated the obese child less attractive than a child in a wheelchair, a child with a facial deformity and, a child with a missing limb.

• The dieting industry is the only business in the world that has a 98% failure rate.

• One half of 4th grade girls are on a diet.

• The average US woman is 5’4” and weighs 140 pounds. In contrast, the average US model is 5’11” and weighs 117 pounds.

• 51% of nine and ten-year-old girls stated they felt better about themselves when they were adhering to a diet.

• One out of three women and one out of four men are on a diet at any given time.

• Four out of five US women are dissatisfied with their appearance.

• 81% of ten-year-old girls are afraid of being fat.

• A study found that adolescent girls were more fearful of gaining weight than getting cancer, nuclear war or losing their parents.

• Some of the pictures of the models in magazines do not really exist. The pictures are computer-modified compilations of different body parts.

• A study found that 25% of Playboy centerfolds met the weight criteria for anorexia.

• Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses. The mortality (death) rate for eating disorders is approximately 18% in 20-year studies, and 20% in 30-year follow up studies.

• 52% of girls begin dieting before age 14 (Johnson et al. (1984). Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 13.)

• Eating disorders cross racial, economic, and educational boundaries.

• Bulimia can cause damage to the reproductive system, kidney failure, cardiac arrest, and ulcers of the intestinal tract.

• Many people with eating disorders are addicted to exercise.

• Victims of eating disorders generally have very low self-esteem.

Make a decision to change today. Stop being the victim the story of your life and others. You are already FAB (Fabulous, Awesome & Beautiful).