This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SMCVT chapter.

In a world plastered with images of tall, thin models airbrushed to perfection and advertisements for different methods of weight loss, it can be difficult not to become wrapped up in one’s own body image. From a young age, girls are influenced by the media and are taught that a select few body types are considered beautiful. Furthermore, the weight loss industry emphasizes the importance of calorie restriction and the reading on the scale, which only reaffirm women’s desires to look like supermodels. This negative influence can lead to many problems regarding body image, ranging from low self esteem and confidence to even more severe cases—extreme dieting and eating disorders.

“Lose five pounds in the first week!”; “Filling meals that are under five hundred calories!”; “Six weeks to a beach body!” Enticing headlines like these lure unconfident and vulnerable women in. Numbers are thrown around, guarantees are made, meal and exercise plans are outlined. So much time, money, and energy is poured into the hopes of looking a certain way, which is often completely unattainable. Throughout this entire process, the notion of health is almost always ignored. Quick and seemingly easy weight loss is never healthy; it starves the body and is not sustainable.

It is nearly impossible not to compare your own body to those seen in magazines, movies, or billboards, and it is almost too easy to wish that you looked like them. But we usually forget that these pictures are merely snapshots of reality. We don’t consider how some of these women diet extremely, completely neglecting their health in the process, and what the role photoshop plays in creating these picture perfect images. We forget that these photos are often fabricated and not consistent with reality.

Being barely over five feet tall, I knew at a young age that I would never have the body of a supermodel. Though for many of my middle school and high school years, the ideas of weight loss and dieting were never entirely free from my impressionable adolescent mind. Numbers on the scale can be extremely misleading; as long as one’s weight does not affect their wellbeing, then there should never be a need to gain or lose weight. Luckily, I never had the misfortune of developing a serious negative relationship with my body. Instead of focusing on the number on the scale, I have put a greater emphasis on my health and how I feel as opposed to how I may look.

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Think of Your Health Before You Think of Body Image

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