DESPERATELY SEEKING GORGEOUS
Percentage of men who look for very attractive women in the personals: 57
Percentage of women who look for very attractive men in the personals: 26
Percentage of men seeking thin women in the personals: 34
Percentage of women seeking thin men in the personals: 2
--University of New Mexico psychology study,
Sex Roles Journal, Vol. 11/12, 1990.
FEELING INADEQUATE
Percentage of women unhappy with their overall appearance: 38
Percentage of men dissatisfied with their body image: 34
Percentage of Americans who don't like their weight or abdomen size: over 50
-Andrew Kimball, Foundation on Economic Trends
SOLUTION #1: DIETING TILL YOU DROP
Weight and height of the average female model in 1980: 5'8", 117 lbs.
Weight and height of the average female model now: 5'8"-5'11", 110-115 lbs.
Weight and height of the average American woman: 5'3 1/2", 146 lbs.
Daily calorie intake prescribed by conventional weight-loss programs' diet plans: 945-1200.
Daily calorie intake of those the World Health Organization says are starving: under 900
--Body Image Task Force
Percentage of normal-weight women who want to be thinner: 70
Percentage of underweight women who want to be thinner: 23
--U.S. Department of Health and Welfare
Percentage of women aged 25-45 who are dieting: 56
Pecentage of 10-year-old girls who claim they're on a diet: 80
--National Institute for Compulsive Eaters
Percentage of people who regain the weight after dieting: 90-98
--Body Image Task Force
Money spent yearly on diets and related services: $33 billion
--Andrew Kimball, Foundation on Economic Trends
SOLUTION #2: NIPPING AND TUCKING
Number of Americans who undergo "aesthetic surgery" yearly: 1.5 million
Number of American women who have fat surgically liposuctioned from their bodies yearly: 250,000
Percentage increase in men undergoing cosmetic surgery in the last four years: 50.
--Andrew Kimball, Foundation on Economic Trends
Percentage of women who have stuffed their bras: 8
Percentage of men who have stuffed their shorts: 4
--Do You Do It With the Lights On?
(Ballantine Books; 1991)
SOLUTION #3: KNOWING THE MIRROR
Dollars spent every year on cosmetics and skin-care products by men and women: $10 billion
--Kline Company
Percentage of women who wear lipstick every day: 75
Number of times the average lipstick-wearer applies it daily: 2
Percentage of women who re-apply their lipstick more than eight times in an average day: 13
Percentage of women who hold their "do" with hairspray: 67
Percentage of men who hold their "do" with hairspray: 32
Percentage of women who have bottle-colored their hair: 27
Percentage of men who have bottle-colored their hair: 8
--Simmons 1990 Media and Market Study
ILLUSTRATIONS (2): (KEN CONDON)
