Fitness, Training, Health Dissertation Example

The publishing industry has experience a slump in the sale of magazines due to the popularity of other platforms such as the internet. However, magazines that are targeted towards the female niche in issues of health and fitness have shown a resiliency. In fact, these magazines have reported increased circulation, sales and profits from advertising. The penetration rate of these magazines collaborate the premise. For instance, magazines targeting girls aged 15 to 17 years have a penetration of 80% while those targeting women aged 18 to 24 years have the highest penetration at 92%. These attractive statistics are due to the fact some of these magazines are portraying health and fitness in rather unhealthy ways. According to Chojnacki, Grant, Maguire & Regan (n.d.), these magazines first deplete the body image of the women, by that preying on the resultant low self-esteem. For instance, the average woman in America weighs 140 pounds and is five foot, four inches in height. In comparison, the average model in America weighs 117 pounds and is five foot, eleven inches tall (Chojnacki et al, n.d.). Using various targeted advertising messages, these magazines tell the women that they are not thin enough, or tall enough. Surprisingly, this has an effect on the models too. The sale of depleted body images preps the target audience for unhealthy fitness routines. Against conventional knowledge, health and fitness are equated with sexual attractiveness and thinness. The traditional knowledge of health and fitness is repackaged by likening thinness to sexual appeal and attractiveness. This has detrimental effect on the understanding of fitness, especially when this strategy is used by many magazines. Women are socialized to believe this confusing take on health and fitness. Some magazines also advertize women strength as sexy. This approach privileges the ideology of male pleasure and women’s subordination. Other magazines equate weight loss to an increase in one’s sex appeal. This approach also privileges male power and domination. The result is the indoctrination of objectification, especially when because this approach defines health and fitness in terms of an individual’s appearance instead of the classically defined concept of ability. As highlighted previously, women are socialized from a very tender age to perceive their health and fitness through their appearance instead of ability. This reinforces and makes objectification norm. Additionally, this approach ensures that the repackaged notion of health and fitness prevails to the detriment of the actual health and fitness. These magazines also equate weight loss with happiness. The gist of this approach is that people who weigh less are happier compared to heavier women. This approach preys on the insecurities of women regarding their weight. The downside of this is that while these magazines deplete the body image of these women, they do not offer sustainable ways through which this happiness can be achieved through weight loss. Instead, they propose crash programs that promise weight loss and complete body transformation within a short period. In real sense, these magazines are peddling unhappiness at exorbitant prices because these crash weight loss programs are hardly sustainable. The implication of this is that the magazines serve to deplete the body images of the women but do not offer sustainable ways of mending the lost self-esteem. The traditional knowledge of health and fitness relates to one’s ability. The repackaged notion of health and fitness in these magazines relates to appearance instead of ability.

References

Chojnacki, M., Grant, C. Maguire, K. and Regan, K (n.d.). Depleting Body Image: The effects of female magazine models on the self-esteem and body image of college-age women. Retrieved 26 Feb. 2015 from http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/~jpiliavi/357/body-image.htm