Why Celebrating Diversity Will Help Save Lives

Over the weekend I came across an article that highlighted an interesting point about Vogue magazine; despite having a readership that's one-fifth women over 50, Vogue has only featured one woman over 40 on the cover in the past year — Halle Berry.

However, this trend is not limited to Vogue. The article also states that research shows fashion magazines portray women over 40 sparingly, if at all.

According to a review of eating disorder research published in June in the journal Clinical Psychology Review, about 4.5 percent of middle-age women have eating disorders, and some studies have found increased admissions of middle-age women into eating disorder clinics in the past decade.

The same review found only two earlier studies that investigated the link between media consumption and eating disorders in older women. A study published in 2008 found that pressure from family, peers and media was linked with a desire for thinness and disordered eating. Another study, published in 2003, found that family pressure was the most influential path to an eating disorder, though perceived media pressure had a small to medium influence as well.

It is my personal view that we need to celebrate diversity and therefore women of all ages, shapes and sizes need to be portrayed in the media as this provides a realistic picture of what constitutes 'normal'. Celebrating diversity encourages self-acceptance and self-love and this helps to foster positive body image. If we can help women feel good about themselves from the inside out, we have a very real chance of reducing the alarming incidence of eating disorders in our community and ultimately saving lives.