According to Change.org:

  • More than half of girls (55 percent) admit they diet to lose weight
  • 42 percent of girls know someone their age who forced themselves to throw up after eating
  • 37 percent know someone who has been diagnosed with an eating disorder
  • 31 percent admit to starving themselves or refusing to eat as a strategy to lose weight.

According to the Girls Inc, even young girls, 3rd through 5th grade, worry about their appearance (54 percent), and specifically their weight (37 percent).

The American Psychological Association’s Report on the Sexualization of Girls (2007) found that three of the most common mental health problems among girls, eating disorders, depression or depressed mood, and low self-esteem, are linked to sexualization of girls and women in media.

This article has so much rich information about topics such as the impact of media messages on girl friendships and relational aggression, the epidemic problem of sexting (hasn’t THAT been a hot topic lately?), and the relative exclusion of girls of color from the media.

To read more, check out Change.org and sign the petition to urge Congress to pass the Healthy Media for Youth Act.