Extreme Dieting

I know this subject pretty much comes under the whole body modification issue, though it wasn't really tackled during the lecture I consider it a problem worth discussing.

There have recently been some TV programmes about extreme weight loss, where people have attempted to reach size zero or less. The first programme I watched was the one where Louise Redknapp attempted to reach size zero. This was so she could be monitored by health experts to determine whether the "get slim fast" diets that celebrities rely upon are actually healthy? The dieting regime that Louise took part in actually proved so unhealthy that her doctor begged her to stop the experiment.

The issue is that many of these diets are appealing to young teenagers (mostly girls) who aspire to be as slim as Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan. It seems that many women feel pressured to be skinny since all the stars are slim, and its fashionable at the moment, just like shapely figures were in the 1930's. Although normal people like you and me might feel we have to slim down because we want to look like the stars, it seems there is also extra pressure on the celebrities to slim down, more so than there has ever been before. For example, Gwen Stefani has lost a lot of weight since her early days in the band No Doubt, this is most likely because she is expected to land film roles, such as the part she played in The Aviator. In an interview Gwen even admitted to "starving" herself to lose that extra pound! It seems that in this generation we are trying to fit into clothes rather than the clothes fitting us.

If you look in any glossy magazine you are bound to see stars that you know and admire flashing their ribs at the world. Actors that were once considered role models are now stripped of that status because of the size of their waist. Just last year, the South American model Luisel Ramos, died of a heart attack at the age of 22 because she had been living on a diet of green leaves and diet coke. It seems that she was starving herself to gain a successful career.

To read more on this story, go to http://community.sparknotes.com/index.php/2006/09/

The picture of Angelina Jolie above, is an exaggerated example of weight loss - hopefully it will never get that bad - I think it shows us just how stupid the need to be ridiculously skinny is. Soon, if they don't be careful, the glamorous people of the world will begin to look more like charity cases than people to be admired.