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The biggest issue with diet advertisements is that they emphasis changing your body to fit societal ideals when they should be promoting a healthy relationship with food and exercise.  For example, after viewing the Protein World advertisement, I am being told that if my body doesn’t look like the models, I am not “beach body ready.” And although the point of this advertisement is to tell me I should buy the product so I can be “beach body ready”, it’s being advertised in a way that is detrimental to the publics, including young children, self-esteem. According to author Gayle R. Bessenoff, “Self‐discrepancy theory may provide a link between research on moderators and the social comparison research on media effects” (Bessenoff, 240).  Self-discrepancies are the intrusive thoughts that overwhelm our self-guides, better known as our conscience. When we are bombard with idea that we need to change our bodies, our value of self-worth goes down and we begin to have negative thoughts about ourselves and body.  This is where self-discrepancies come into effect.

Diet advertisements are seen in numerous different ways and a majority of them do not promote ideals of loving your body.  When we have self-discrepancies about our self-worth and bodies, it can lead to distorted images of how we should look, better yet how society wants us to look.  In a society that has high rates of individuals diagnosed with eating disorders, we should be focused on promoting body positivity and healing any self-discrepancies we have.   Luckily, there are many companies such as Dove who are promoting self-love and showing young girls, and everyone, that there is no wrong way to have a body and that every person’s body is ready for the beach and anywhere else. Despite the body positive companies, we still have ideals of dieting projected onto children and other young people who should not have to worry about their appearance; no one should have to worry about their appearance or be told they are not “beach body ready”. As far as I’m concerned, the best way to achieve a beach body is to have a body, go to the beach and embrace who you are because you do not need to change a single piece of your beautiful body for anyone.

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Figure 2: Doves body positive response to Protein Worlds “Are You Beach Body Ready” advertisement.

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Figure 2: Doves body positive response to Protein Worlds “Are You Beach Body Ready” advertisement.

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Around early springtime in 2015, Protein World, a popular weight loss company, developed the advertisement above promoting a new product implying it will help you get “beach body ready”. The advertisement was seen globally, specifically in New York City, plastered on billboards and subway cars. The bright yellow color and contrast used makes it impossible to not have your eyes drawn to it. The advertisement was viewable by children and adults as it demands your attention and focus, and it shouldn't be this way. If we look closer at the model, she isn’t” healthy”. It’s a slippery slope to determine who is healthy and who is not just by looking at an image, but it’s clear this isn’t a real person anymore. We could easily say this is false advertising because the model is altered and edited to look “healthy”. Upon first glance at this billboard image, it's almost impossible to see who is advertising this product. It's more focused on the model then the actual product and emphasizing her body, making the actual product seem like an afterthought. According to Journalist Jordan Muto from TODAY.com, the advertisement caused “global attention and prompted the U.K.'s Advertising Standards Authority to ban the images this past spring after the organization received nearly 400 complaints” (TODAY.com). Although the advertisement was not banned in the United States, it sparked numerous responses on social media causing people to speak out about topics such as body shaming and the concept of being “beach body ready”.

Diet advertisements like the one above say a lot about societal body expectations. According to the Academic Psychiatry Journal (2006), “the standard of female beauty often has been unrealistic and difficult to attain throughout our history” (Derenne, Beresin 259).  This is to say the idea that a woman's body should be small and thin, is not new. For example the development of the corset in the 20th century restricted movement and made your waist appear smaller. Many women were not a fan of these and went against societal standards and wore pants and cut their hair short. In today's culture, many body inclusive clothing brands or model companies have retaliated against diet advertisements such as the one from Protein World, to make them [advertisements] more body positive and emphasize the very important point that everybody is beautiful. For example, the popular soap brand Dove had a big retaliation to the “Are You Beach Body Ready” advertisement by taking three diverse women in body size and race and putting them front and center on the yellow background (See Figure. 2).  It’s important to notice that these models look happier than the one from the Protein World advertisement. Personally, I am more inclined to look at Dove’s products because I see three confident, smiling women who are embracing their body the way it is. It’s significant to have a set of diverse models in advertisements because there is not one type of body. Having different bodies and races of individuals represented in the media for young girls to look up to and help build more self-worth. Dove’s campaign is best known for promoting body positivity and diversity in their advertisements.

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Figure 1: Protein Worlds 2015 advertisement sparking global controversy

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Figure 1: Protein Worlds 2015 advertisement sparking global controversy

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Diet Advertisements and our Mental Health

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Diet Advertisements and our Mental Health

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Growing up, I can remember seeing numerous diet advertisements in magazines and billboards everywhere. Even when I was younger, I was extremely self-conscious about how I looked and I believe the advertisements contributes to my low feelings of self-worth. They made believe that because I was not thin or toned, I was not beautiful.  When you are exposed to advertisements for such a long time telling you “your body isn't good enough” or “try this diet...” it begins to take a toll on your mental health. Part of the issue is that there is no way to avoid seeing these advertisements no matter how hard you try. We see them all over the place including billboards, magazines and social media.  They are often designed to be colorful and to assault your eyes so you will notice them and think about your body and potentially buy the product.  Diet advertisements have been one of the small contributors I can say that have had an impact on the development of my mental illnesses and eating disorder.  This is common for many young girls and boys who also suffer from mental illnesses including eating disorders, anxiety disorders and depression. Diet advertisements seen in various types of media are harmful for our mental health and self-image. It is not just the current media that influences how view ourselves but also the body standards we have seen throughout history. Throughout history the “ideal body” has been determined by numerous factors including media. According to the Academic Psychiatry Journal (2006) “Exposure to mass media (television, movies, magazines, Internet) is correlated with obesity and negative body image, which may lead to disordered eating” (Derenne, Beresin 258). Diet advertisements can cause us to have very low and poor self-images which can in turn result in more and more people developing an unhealthy relationship with food.

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English 102 has definitely pushed me to become a better writer while also rekindling my love and appreciation for writing. I’ve learned a lot about myself as a person and writer, while also finding my “writing voice”. The essay topics really helped me push myself to share my personal experiences and relate them back to the author or topic we are writing about.  The most important concept I have learned it that adding a personal experience that relates to your topic, can help you connect with the reader and allow them to be fully immersed in your writing. This is a concept I struggled with because for me, sharing my story is a little scary. However, by accomplishing the three essays that all linked back to my identity and story, I was able to push myself to share parts of me that would otherwise keep to myself.  In the future, I’m going to use the way I was taught to outline my essays. After the first essay, I quickly realized this way works much better for me and helps me stay more organized, which  is very important for me when writing an essay.  Overall, I’m extremely proud for completing this lass and the grades I have received throughout the semester. It shows me that I shouldn’t put too much pressure in myself when I’m writing and that when I stay organized and focused, I’m able to pull out my creative ideas and put them into my essay.