Looking at perfect bodies on ad billboards we raise the depicted there to the icons. But we, I mean grownups, understand that it’s simply the business approach and that these icons look pretty ordinarily in their everyday life. We have other things to worry about.

But what about our kids? Girls don’t believe that it’s a trick to promote a product. And they begin to feel their imperfection in comparison with those goddesses.

Airbrushed models create a generation of young women with eating disorders and depressions. More than 40 leading experts on body image issues today call for a ban on touching up photos in advertising for the under 16s. In their report they warn about the tendency of the weight-self-conscious problems that little girls as young as five start suffering from.

In a letter to the Advertising Standards Authority, the academics from Britain, America and Australia say that the ‘clear majority of adolescent girls’ have problems with ‘depression, stress, guilt, shame, insecurity and body dissatisfaction’.

The ASA was sent more than 1,000 complaints about airbrushed adverts in the past three months following a campaign by the Liberal Democrats.
However, the watchdog has refused to act pleading those complains weren’t provided with scientific evidence of the claims.

In response to this not-acting, the body image experts Dr Helga Dittmar of the University of Sussex and Dr Emma Halliwell from the University of the West of England and researchers from the U.S. and Australia have written a report detailing the conclusions of more than 100 academic studies worldwide.
It has been signed by 40 doctors and psychologists worldwide.

The researchers say:

“Exposure to the media ideal is linked with greater body dissatisfaction and more unhealthy eating beliefs and behaviours in women. It is very significant in women who already have some body image issues, and among adolescents. We hope that the advertising authorities in the UK and other countries will give this evidence serious consideration and see the urgent need for policy change.”

Every brand wants its products to be sold. And what is sold? Right, “thin and sexy sell”! These extremely attractive ads with the most sexiest and glamorous and sootiest bodies call for sell. And what is more awful is that we’ve got used to them. We don’t want to buy something if it doesn’t look great.

Liberal Democrat MP Jo Swinson said:

“This paper spells out the real damage irresponsible airbrushing is doing to young women’s physical and mental health. The Advertising Standards Agency now has all the scientific evidence it needs to act.”

The way out is to lessen it or publish the information about the picts that have been airbrushed. What do you think?

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