Ibelievethecravingsomeyoungwomenhavetocopywhatispromotedastheidealfigureforawomanisthecauseoftheirobsessionwithexcessivedieting.Agreatdealofmediaadvertisingmakesuseofyoung,slim,attractivewomenanditisunderstandablynaturalthatsomewomenwanttocopywhattheyseeastheidealrolemodel.
Obsessivedietingcertainlydoeshappen,asisillustratedbythenumerousarticlesinmagazinesaboutpeoplesufferingfromanorexia.Almostexclusively,thisobsessionrelatestoyoungerwomenwhoareconstantlybombardedwiththesupposedlyidealwomanasdepictedinwomen'sfashionmagazines,Mostofthesefashionmodelsareveryslim,someofthemexcessivelyso.Thereisnothingwrongwithasensiblecontrolleddietaimedatlosingsomeexcessweightbut,whentheneedtodietbecomesanallconsumingpassions,thatiswhenthedangeroccurs.Often,thepeoplewhobecomesusceptibletothelureofthe"perfect"figurearenotawareofwhatishappeningtothem.Usually,preventingdietingbecominganobsessionwilldependonfriendsandrelativesrecognisingthewarningsigns.Asforpreventingthebasiccauseofthisproblem,thatisamuchmorecomplexissueasitinvolvesthestandardmoresofthesocietyandpeoplebeingawareoftheirresponsibilities.Educationaboutthedangersofexcessivedietingneedstobepartofthesolutionforprevention.