Yo

can have y yor

MANY PEOPLE believe that you have to

be thin to be beautiful,

and, as @ result,

many teenage girls — and some even
younger — are on a diet even though it
tends to make them less healthy. Have you
ever dicted? How old were you when you
went on your first dict? Do you think it's

important to be thin?

~» Health issues lose out in pursuit of society’s ill-conceived perfect woman

WHAT IS the perfeci girl?

|
«a

on
~

By Teya Mathias
ZAP! Contributor

Many of us would think the
perfect girl is tall, thin and
beautiful; someone you'd sce on
the cover of Vogue.

Many young girls are. neither
tall nor thin, but they are all -
beautiful in their own way. ;

Often young girls de not see
their own special beauty. They
may only see what other people
see — their outer shell.

Society and the media are

‘sending mixed messages to. young

women. They want us to be smart,

_well- educated and beautiful;

-is increased to 20%.

- beautiful meaning thin.

Roughly 80% -of young girls .

have been on their first diet by the
“tender age of 10. Why would a
/ young girl go on a diet? They are
‘already feeling the pressure that is
put on women-by the media and
society.

Among. adolescent girls, 5% to ,
10% are anorexic. In college this
Anorexia

means the extreme loss of one's

“appetite.

Anorexia nervosa is
what causes the loss of appetite.
‘A friend .of mine . was once

‘-anorexic and she told me she used

to eat one grecn apple combined |

- with one packet of low calorie in-

stant hot chocolate. This was her
* food intake for one day.

‘She was very proud of herself
for keeping so thin. She went to

,an aerobics class five to six days a
week,

Now she. has recovered, eats

., healthy and exercises regularly.

She now sees that she didn’t need
to put herself through all that, but
she has learned’ a lot about
herself. It takes a lot to admit you
“havea problem.

Bulimia is an eating disorder

where huge amounts of food are

consumed, but the person will in-
duce vomiting or.take laxatives to
get rid of the food. This mainly
affects young wonien. The bulimic
is often a person who is obsessed

_ with. weight loss.

Bulimia is“ a. binge-purge syn-
_ drome, with a 10% to 15% rate
among: women’ in college. An old

friend of mine: was bulimic. She’
-was my age and very beautiful. I

thought she had it. all; she had it

all and much more. |

CONTEMPORARY

EDUCATORS recognize three,
primary learning styles: auditory’
(hearing), visual (secing) and
tactile (feeling). While every. stu-
dent absorbs information using
all three senses, each has a
primary sense that shapes how
he or she learns best.

By Robert O. Minor
Contributing Writer

For example, auditory learners
understand information best by
hearing. They prefer to talk,
listen and express emotion.

She used to make herself throw
up after meals. She was afraid of
getting fat. She once said to me,

“T can’t be fat! Guys don’t like ©

girls who are fat.” This is. not
always true, yet she was Jed to
believe it was,

Why would someone make
themself throw up, or deprive
themself of the essential basic
needs such as food? Are they try-
ing to torture themself?

Did someone say. something to
them that made them feel fat or
not good enough for society? Or

_is eating the only thing they have

control of in ‘their lives? Maybe
they just want to be thin and look

‘good. Maybe they want to look

like the models in the magazines
that the media’ pushes in our faces
every day.

Twenty-nine years ago, the

Visual learners process infor-
mation best when they can see it.
For example, they remember
faces, demonstrations, charts or
graphs.

Tactile learners remember best
what they’ve learned if they can
touch objects of associate an ac-
tivity with the subject.

You can determine your
learning style by using the fol-
lowing quiz. Circle letters that
apply, then total all As, Vs and
Ts to see which is most frequent.

If you’re not sure about an
item, leave it blank.

@ Prefer hearing or listening.
(A)

weight of the average model was
8% less than the weight of the
average woman. Now, the average
weight of most models is 23% less
than the norm.

Our ‘bodies have sot changed;
only the preference of society and
the media.

It is said that only about 5% of

women could actually be as thin’

as the models you see on TV-and
in magazines.

Someone who has knowledge of
anorexia will notice that most
models in general show signs of
anorexia. Many people see the ef-
fects of this disease to be attrac-
tive.

Studies show that 80% of high
school girls have been on, or are
still on, a diet. This shocked and
upset researchers, not to mention
doctors.

@ Doodle. (V)

@ Move lips when reading. (A)

@ Like to hear yourself and
others talk. (A)

@ Express yourself with gestures
and body movement. (T)
@ Are quiet; do not
length, (V) ;

@ Fidget when reading. (T)

@ Prefer to have ideas demon-
strated. (V)

@ Remember
names. (V)

@ Try things out by touching or
feeling. (T)

@ Need frequent breaks when
studying. (T)

@ Study well with friends. (A) _

talk at

faces but not

You could imagine how upset
‘they were a few years later when
they found out that 80% of fourth
grade. girls had. already dieted,
‘too. Out of the 80% that were
dieting, 45% were actually below
their recommended weight to
begin with.

For the average female standing
5’8’', most experts say her weight
should be roughly .144. pounds.
This varies depending on muscle,
bone structure and water.

1 think what is healthy is what’s.

best for:you. You are only going
to have’ one body and keeping it
nourished and in proper working
order is so important. -

As women, right from puberty,
our’ bodies are preparing for
bearing children.

All you see on. TV are thin
models, but remember it’s all just

e Study well alone. (V)

@ Remember physical events or
activities (“1 did...’’). {T)

@ Remember visual events (‘'I
saw...”’}. (V)

To confirm your suspicions,
recall an experience. Do you
close your eyes for a moment or
focus on the sounds (A)? Bo you
momentarily look off in the
distance and descrbe the sights
(V)? Or, do you use gestures, or
your whole body, to tell the
story (T)?

Do you show a clear auditory,
visual or tactile preference?

Once you know your learning
style, you can maximize your

advertising. People are all out to
make a buck with all the miracle.
diets. Everyone tries to. sell you’
something you don’t need.

Many of the commercial diets
that they advertise on TV are not
so successful and are often the >
first step to an eating disorder.

Most of the initial rapid weight
loss from these programs is your
body running on water and salt.
Most people experience byperten- .
sion or fatigue. You shouldn’t
have to suffer to lose weight. *

1 can’t tell you how to eat.and.
exercise, but if you go to your*
family ‘doctor I’m sure he or ‘she --
will. have some advice on -eating .-
and exercises that. will help keep -
you healthy. |

Many.» think that’
comes from being beautiful. You
could be as weak as a jellyfish in-
side and look good on the cutside,
but that doesn’t change the way
you feel inside.

It may make others think. ‘you:
are mighty, but who are. you living |
your fife for. — you. or the next
guy?

A girlfriend of mine told me » she *
had never felt so good about
herself until she began to work.
out.

She just finished a 6.8 mile ran. :

and the way she was talking about .
it made it sound like the best high
in the world. I have noticed an
increase in her energy and cone,
fidence. -.-

I feel that many people : are in-
fluenced by things that are not
very - realistic. My. sister had a
baby just over .a year ago and I.
see how happy and carefree that
little girl is now.

I fear one day that she will feel -
that she should be living up to
society’s ideal. I just. hope socie-
ty’s ideal is a little more realistic. .

My niece is one of the most cre-

ative, smartest and prettiest little

- girls in the world.’ Mot only ’
because she is my niece but for the |
simple reason that she is learning
how important she is and how.
much she is loved just the way she ©:
is.

Young people tend to be a little
hard on themselves. | really hope
her generation is taught and in-
fluenced with humanity, ‘not ine
agery,.

,

Teya Mathias is 17 years: old, .

and in Grade 12 at. Sutherland

secondary school..She’s interested
in photography.

~ tearning potential whether at
school or on the job.

For auditory learners:
@ Study with friends and discuss
the material.

For visual learners:
@ Sit near the fron, away from
distractions, and take good
notes.

For tactile fearners:
@ Draw timelines, maps, il-
lustrations and diagrams of ideas
to organize information man-
ually.

Robert O. Minor is vice-presi-
dent of education for Sylvan
Learning Centres.

confidence » *