Media and Peer Influence on Fad Diets Tried by Adolescent Females

Berry Lisa L. (Writer) (Last Name) (First) (Initial) The Influence of Media and Peers on Adolescent Females Fad Dieting___________________________ (Title) Guidance and Counseling/Mental Health Dr. Gary Rockwood 12/99 (Graduate Major) (Research Advisor) (Month/Year) American Psychological Association (APA) Publication Manual (Name of Style Manual Used in this Study) The purpose of the present study was to examine the impact of the influence of the media and peers to the number of fad diets attempted by female adolescents ages 13-17 as measured by The Ruth Gilfry Female Adolescents Informative Survey. More recent trends show that teens are influenced by modern pop culture depicting thin to equal happiness (Kilbourne, 1987). The problem seems to be that negative messages toward overweight people began early in the twentieth century and early in one’s life. Women have been depersonalized through the media and peers and their body parts exploited as decorative objects. Consequently, females have become obsessed with the fear of fat and with dieting (Schur, 1984). A teenage girl’s self-evaluation is powerfully influenced by concerns about their weight (Bramwell, 1996). Approximately 7 million women in the United States are affected by an eating disorder (Zimbardo & Gerrig, 1996). The subjects involved in this study are thirty-seven adolescent females, ages 13-17 attending self-esteem groups at a counseling center in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. The subjects surveyed