Over the years, there has been a growing trend among Hollywood starlets, and it’s not their sense in fashion. The image of the it-girl is younger, taller and skinnier than ever. And with the social media growing at a rapidly fast pace, young girls are bombarded with images of scarily thin starlets.

With that in mind, what message is Hollywood sending to females all over the world? And how are young girls coping with the pressure to be alarmingly skinny?

According to a recent study, 81% of ten-year-old girls are afraid of being fat, while 42% of girls in grades first through third claim they want to be thinner. Some question whether or not the media is having a negative impact on body image amongst females, and there definitely is a direct correlation.

‘In a recent poll, “79% of teenage girls who vomit and 73% of teenage girls who use diet pills are frequent readers of women’s health and fitness magazines.” Canadian researcher, Gregory Fouts has reported that over 75% of females in TV sitcoms are underweight while only 5% are of an average or healthy BMI (body mass index).

Gisele Bundchen is just one of the astonishingly thin starlets who was recently praised for her body. VOGUE magazine stated that Gisele, “strays from the rail thin body image of the quintessential supermodel,” yet, she stands 5’11’’ and is estimated to weigh a mere 115 pounds, which is 25% below her ideal body weight. In contrast, the average American woman is 5’4’’ and weighs approximately 140 pounds. This is a drastic difference from the average size of the female supermodel.

As the average woman’s weight has increased over the years, Hollywood stars are continuing to drop numbers on the scale. The diet industry has generated over 40 billion dollars last year as many average size women are resorting to diet pills and fad diets to lose those extra pounds and conform to the societial ideal of thinness. 

Many women progress from a single diet into pathological dieting and according to RadarPrograms.com, “one out of every three women and one out of every four men are on a diet at any given time.”

Starlets like Keira Knightley, Kate Bosworth, Mary-Kate Olsen, Nicole Richie, Lindsay Lohan, and Nicky Hilton are among several celebrities who have been publicly noted regarding their shrinking frames. Most recent, Angelina Jolie has faced a lot of questioning regarding her emaciated figure.

Jolie has stated in interviews that she goes on a crash diet that she refers to as her ‘movie diet’, in order to be pin-thin when the cameras start rolling. She has gone to such extremes as an intake of only 600 calories a day. When asked how she gets in tip-top shape before a fashion show, Adrianna Lima has revealed her secrets, which are a far cry from healthy. Lima claims she doesn’t eat any solid food for nine days before a show and refuses to intake any water while prepping 24 hours before the show starts.

As women all over the world read dieting advice such as this, there is one positive side to it. The Hollywood scene has become so obsessed with body image and size that magazines and fashion industries attempt to “buck this trend” of the stick-thin look, in search of new trends.

The Quebec magazine, Coupe de Pouce has recently been including more and more plus-size women in their articles while one of the world’s biggest fashion capitols, Milan, has decided to ban any “ultra-thin” model from the runway. Spain has joined in on the efforts by creating a project that includes measuring healthy weight women’s clothing sizes with laser.

If we could get advertisers and others in the Hollywood industry to start taking a stand in healthier living then there is a chance of change the statistics and to start making a positive impact on women and their body image.

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About the author

Elizabeth Lowry
Elizabeth graduated from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University with her specialization in Broadcast News as well as a minor in business and psychology. She enjoys writing, reading and researching about humanitarian affairs, health & fitness, fashion and sports. In her free time she enjoys working out, traveling and exploring different cultures, trying new things and spending time with her Chocolate Lab.