Women's Health

In April, 1992, The National Institutes of Health declared that diets do not work and may even be dangerous to our health. Yet, at any given moment, 80 million adults in this country are dieting spending 37 billion dollars annually, (The Women's Resource Center of New York, Inc.).

85% of American women diet 5 times a year, 98% regain the weight loss, and then some. (The Women's Therapy Centre Institute).

78% of American women consider themselves overweight and restrict social interaction on that basis, while in reality, 45% are actually underweight, (The Women's Therapy Centre Institute).

The body measurements for Playboy magazine centerfolds, Miss America contestants have decreased over the last 30 years. The body weights for these women are 13 to 19 percent below healthy weights for women of a similar age. A weight of 15 percent below normal is one criterion for anorexia nervosa. "Thus a majority of these 'ideals' of our society may be classified as having one of the major symptoms of an eating disorder," concluded the American University researchers.

"Men traditionally have been valued for their actions and women for their appearance, and each have based their self-esteem accordingly. Consequently, women have tended to feel worse than men about themselves when they view their body shape as deviating from the fashion norm of the day." (The Women's Resource Center of New York, Inc..)

'The pressure to look good has intensified for both sexes in the last two decades...our dissatisfaction has grown for every area of our bodies", (Judith Rodin, Ph.D.).

Get out of the Body Trap!

Judith Rodin, Ph.D., is the author of more than 200 articles and papers as well as "Breaking the Body Traps". She makes the following recommendations:

Treat your body with more respect. If you give your body what it really wants; moderate exercise, relaxation, small indulgences, healthy foods, etc., it will respond positively. It may be hard to do something nice for yourself, but it will help you feel better about yourself.

Identify your true wants and needs and pursue these goals. This will help you to broaden your horizens and bring your self-image into perspective. By adding new interests to your life you will be able to redirect the energy spent on thinness and appearance in a positive and ennervating direction.

Relearn how you observe yourself. Rather than searching for flaws, focus on your whole self. Value the wonderful gift you have in your body and the familial background that it comes from.