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while thin women and pumped-up men are the successful, popular, sexy and powerful ones. How can we tell our children that it's what's inside that counts, when the media continuously contradicts this message?

Super models in all the popular magazines have continued to get thinner and thinner.

Modeling agencies have been reported to actively pursue Anorexic models.

he average woman model weighs up to 25% less

han the typical woman and maintains a weight at about 15 to 20 percent below what is considered healthy for her age and height.

By far, these body types and images are not the norm and unobtainable

Diet advertisements are another problem.

hese images are fake.

the ideal body" combined with the diet industry's drive to make more money, creates a never-ending cycle of ad upon ad that try to convince us

Pop-culture's imposed definition of

Barbie-type dolls have often been blamed on playing a role in the development of body-image problems and Eating Disorders.

Not only do these dolls have fictionally proportioned, small body sizes, but they lean towards escalating the belief that materialistic possessions, beauty and thinness equate happiness.

Barbie has more accessories available to purchase than can be believed, including Ken, her attractive boyfriend.

personally do NOT believe every girl that has a Barbie-type doll is at risk of disordered eating,

We need to remind ourselves and each other constantly (especially children) that

With an increased population of children who spend a lot of time in front of television, there are more of them coming up with a superficial sense of who they are.

we are continually exposed to the notion that losing weight will make us happier and it will be through "THIS diet plan".

if you lose weight, your life will be good."

These images may not help, and for those already open to the possibility of negative coping mechanisms and/or mental illness, the media may play a small contributing role -- but ultimately, if a young man or woman's life situation, environment, and/or genetics leave them open to an Eating Disorder (or alcoholism, drug abuse, depression, OCD, etc.), they will still end up in the same place regardless of television or magazines.

it helps to perpetuate an ideal of materialism, beauty, and being thin as important elements to happiness in one's life.

this would delay a young person's entry into the labor force

If an older worker is forced to work an extra couple of years

youth unemployment already absurdly high

over 20 percent

young people need to realize they will live longer

reduce benefits.

When youth drink they tend to drink intensively, often consuming four to five drinks at one time. MTF data show that 11 percent of 8th graders, 22 percent of 10th graders, and 29 percent of 12th graders had engaged in heavy episodic, or binge, drinking within the past two weeks.

5' 10", 180-200 lbs

between 6' and 6'2", and over 200 lbs.

“Based on our results, I think parents should be aware of the relationship between violent video-game playing and brain function.”

he scans showed a negative effect on the brains of the teens who played “Medal of Honor” for 30 minutes. That same effect was not present in the kids who played “Need for Speed.”

And it’s also not known what effect longer play times might have. The scope of this study was 30 minutes of play, and one brain scan per kid

But what about violent TV shows? Or violent films? Has anyone ever done a brain scan of kids that have just watched a violent movie?

Kids in his study experienced increased emotional arousal when watching short clips from the boxing movie “Rocky IV.”

Larry Ley, the director and coordinator of research for the Center for Successful Parenting, which funded Mathews’ study, says the purpose of the research was to help parents make informed decisions. “There’s enough data that clearly indicates that [game violence] is a problem,” he says. “And it’s not just a problem for kids with behavior disorders.”

But not everyone is convinced that this latest research adds much to the debate – particularly the game development community. One such naysayer is Doug Lowenstein, president of the Entertainment Software Association.

“We've seen other studies in this field that have made dramatic claims but turn out to be less persuasive when objectively analyzed.”

And they’ve got plenty of answers at the ready for the critics who want to lay school shootings or teen aggression at the feet of the game industry. Several studies cited by the ESA point to games’ potential benefits for developing decision-making skills or bettering reaction times. Ley, however, argues such studies aren’t credible because they were produced by “hired guns” funded by the multi-billion-dollar game industry.

Increasingly parents are more accepting of video game violence, chalking it up to being a part of growing up. “I was dead-set against violent video games,” says Kelley Windfield, a Sammamish, Wa.-based mother of two. “But my husband told me I had to start loosening up.” Laura Best, a mother of three from Clovis, Calif., says she looks for age-appropriate games for her 14 year-old son, Kyle. And although he doesn’t play a lot of games, he does tend to gravitate towards shooters like “Medal of Honor.”  But she isn’t concerned that Kyle will become aggressive as a result. “That’s like saying a soccer game or a football game will make a kid more aggressive,” she says. “It’s about self-control, and you’ve got to learn it.”

“Let’s quit using various Xboxes as babysitters instead of doing healthful activities,” says Ley, citing the growing epidemic of childhood obesity in the United States. And who, really, can argue with that?

Now that researchers know these off-the-shelf games can have wide-ranging benefits, they’re trying to home in on the games’ most important aspects, potentially allowing designers to create new games that specifically boost brain power.

“Until now, people have been asking can you learn anything from games?’’ MIT’s Klopfer said. “That’s a less interesting question than what aspects of games are important for fostering learning.’’

Do students learn more with a more narrative game?

is assessing whether games that are novel, include social interaction, and require intense focus are better at boosting cognitive skills. McLaughlin and her colleagues will use the findings to design games geared toward improving mental function among the elderly.

Does this mean that Tetris is good for your brain?’’ Haier said. “That is the big question. We don’t know that just because you become better at playing Tetris after practice and your brain changes . . . whether those changes generalize to anything else.’’

an international team of researchers, including several from Iowa State University, reported that middle school students in Japan who played games in which characters helped or showed affection for others, later engaged in more of these behaviors themselves.

Researchers also found that US college students randomly assigned to play a prosocial game were subsequently kinder to a fellow research subject than students who played violent or neutral games.

Unlike, say, movies or books, video games don’t just have content, they also have rules. A game is set up to reward certain actions and to punish others. This means they have immense potential to teach children ethics and values

(Of course, this is a double-edged sword. Games could reward negative, antisocial behavior just as easily as positive, prosocial behavior.)

Some off-the-shelf games already contain strong prosocial themes

he classic Oregon Trail, which make players responsible for the well-being of other characters and feature characters who take care of one another.

“Ultimately, the video game needs to be an entertaining experience,’’ Seider said. “The game has to be fun.’’

The boy's mother is to press for rules which exclude those of school age from such establishment's after 10pm.

Of course, all gamers are not addicts – many teens can play video games a few hours a week, successfully balancing school activities, grades, friends, and family obligations. But for some, gaming has become an uncontrollable compulsion. Studies estimate that 10 percent to 15 percent of gamers exhibit signs that meet the World Health Organization’s criteria for addiction. Just like gambling and other compulsive behaviors, teens can become so enthralled in the fantasy world of gaming that they neglect their family, friends, work, and school.

40 – 60% of high school girls diet

Anorexia is the third most common chronic illness among adolescents.

Only about 10% of all anorexics are male.

Some believe this has to do with the media in western society, which portrays thin women as beautiful and desirable. 

other eating disorders seem to be on the rise in non-western countries, possibly due to more exposure to western media and culture

Anorexia statistics show that with treatment, only 60% make a full recovery.

he final 20% stay dangerously underweight.

The media reinforces this standard by promoting dolls like barbies which no girl or woman could ever seriously look like.

he proportions are all wrong and the measurements when converted to full size are freakishly absurd.

Girls and teenagers are self conscious enough about their body image without being bombarded with air brushed perfection which sometimes borders on looking cartoon like with their lack of blemishes and freckles.

Young girls are starting to diet at younger ages and exposure from the media promoting beauty contests doesn't help this.

There has been some progress on the promotion of ultra thin models and in some place they've been banned.