session with food. Women whose body fat falls below 22 percent commonly experience infertility and hormonal imbalances that promote ovarian and endometrial cancer (Shaw & Waller, 1995).Many males report being unhappy with some aspect of their body. Still, concern about body weight appears to be a far more common and more important aspect of body dissatisfaction experienced by females than males (Brumberg, 1988). Survey data indicates that about one-half to three-quarters of females who are normal in weight consider themselves to be too heavy, whereas only about one-quarter of males consider themselves to be overweight. In their survey, Cash, Winstead, and Janda (1986) found that 40 percent of underweight women consider themselves to be normal. Furthermore, 44 percent of the female participants chose an ideal body shape that was 20 percent underweight (Stuhldreher & Ryan, 1999). The American females obsessive quest for the perfect body is both reflected and promoted by advertisements. Promises of body changes bordering the impossible are everywhere in magazines and on television. For example, the advertisements for diet pills promoting the loss of 20 pounds in two weeks. Such advertisements and advice to young women nourish an obsession that carries with it an array of psychological and behavioral problems (Stephens & Hill, 1994). Whether or not they are too heavy, females who see themselves as overweight show decreased satisfaction with their bodies. Body dissatisfaction in females appears to encourage disturbed eating behaviors. In a survey by Mintz and Betz (1988), 33,000 females aged 15-35 were questioned regarding their attitudes toward their body and their methods of weight control. Only 25 percent of the females were overweight, yet 75 percent believed that they were fat. Of the females surveyed, 18 percent controlled their weight through the use of laxatives or diuretics and 15 percent used forced vomiting. They al...
