According to the National Eating Disorders Association, in the 1970s, the average model weighed 8 percent less than the average woman, whereas in the 1990s, the average model weighed 23 percent less than the average woman. The media, the fashion industry, and the diet industry all play a role in making individuals, especially women and girls, feel insecure about their body image. Underweight models and photo-shopped images promote unrealistic expectations about body image that cause people to question their perceived “failure” to conform to these unhealthy, unnatural ideals.

Fashion magazine ads portray the ideal male and female forms as dramatically different from the average “real” human body. The fashion industry’s depiction of the “ideal” human body has caused millions of men and women to struggle with low self-esteem and dangerous eating disorders. The fashion industry literally profits by preying on people’s insecurities.