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Drive for Thinness

  • 42% of 1st-3rd grade girls want to be thinner (Collins, 1991).
  • 81% of 10 year olds are afraid of being fat (Mellin et al., 1991).
  • The average American woman is 5’4″ tall and weighs 140 pounds.
  • The average American model is 5’11″ tall and weighs 117 pounds.
  • Most fashion models are thinner than 98% of American women (Smolak, 1996).

Dieting

  • 51% of 9 and 10 year-old girls feel better about themselves if they are on a diet (Mellin et al., 1991).
  • 46% of 9-11 year-olds are “sometimes” or “very often” on diets, and 82% of their families are “sometimes” or “very often” on diets (Gustafson-Larson & Terry, 1992).
  • 91% of women recently surveyed on a college campus had attempted to control their weight through dieting, 22% dieted “often” or “always” (Kurth et al., 1995).
  • 95% of all dieters will regain their lost weight in 1-5 years (Grodstein, 1996).35% of “normal dieters” progress to pathological dieting. Of those, 20-25% progress to partial or full-syndrome eating disorders (Shisslak & Crago, 1995).
  • 25% of American men and 45% of American women are on a diet on any given day (Smolak, 1996).
  • Americans spend over $40 billion on dieting and diet-related products each year (Smolak, 1996).