Why Women Strive to Look Thinner than "Normal"

From the Show: HER
Summary: Why in the world is a size 4 considered to be fat?
Air Date: 7/10/14
Duration: 10
Host: Michelle King Robson and Pamela Peek, MD
Guest Bio: Ann Kearney-Cooke, PhD
ann kearney cookeAnn Kearney-Cooke, PhD, is a Distinguished Scholar at the Partnership for Gender Specific Medicine at Columbia University in New York where she developed the Helping Girls Become Strong Woman Project.

She is a New York Times bestselling author and her research and clinical work has focused on body image, eating disorders, midlife women and wellness.
Why Women Strive to Look Thinner than "Normal"
Popular clothing store J Crew recently introduced 000 sizing. It's shocking that anyone can even be thin enough to fit into that size!

This is yet another example of how the fashion industry is manipulating society into trying to achieve an unrealistic body shape and size.

But it's not just the fashion industry that is to blame. 

Eighty percent of women feel insecure by images they see of women on television, and more than two-thirds of women are influenced by underweight models in magazines and media outlets (Radar Programs).

During the Miss USA 2014 show, Miss Indiana, Mekayla Diehl, created a lot of buzz when she showed off her size 4 body in a swimsuit and Twitter immediately started debating her shape.

Some people praised her for looking "normal" and others claimed that she needed to tone up.

Why the heck is a size 4 considered to be fat?

How do society pressures impact our perception of what a normal body type is and what we should look like?

Dr. Ann Kearney-Cooke, PhD, is a psychologist at the Cincinnati Psychotherapy Institute, which was the first of its kind in providing treatment for eating disorders. In this segment, Ann shares the the psychological struggles faced with trying to look thin.