Schoolgirls Starvation diets

A recent major survey has concluded that many teenage girls will skip meals in at attempt to be as skinny as models. The survey looked at the lifestyles of 70,000 schoolchildren and found shocking statistics for teenage girls.

• 40% of 14 and 15 year old girls ate no breakfast.
• 25% of those who skipped breakfast had no lunch the previous day
• Over 50% believed they were over-weight
• 50% of 12 - 15 year olds cited their appearance as their biggest concern

Dr David Regis, research manager at the SHEU, said in-depth interviews with participants suggested media images of superslim celebrities and models such as Victoria Beckham, Kate Moss and Nicole Richie fuelled the obsession with weight.

Dr Regis added "Dissatisfaction with their bodies often seems to originate from, or is certainly accentuated by, celebrity culture and the print media and magazines, These young women are very aware of pressures from the media around body image and appearance. They are able to discuss these magazines critically and say they should not be showing an inappropriate range of unusually thin women, but they do still feel the pressure to be thinner. There is a tension in their attitudes - yes, they criticise some celebrities for being too thin, but will still want to be like them."

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