Nowadays it is almost impossible to walk through a store without seeing a magazine featuring a young, thin model on the cover. Leafing through the pages there are other photos of young, beautiful women, all thin. Every single image is airbrushed to perfection. It's hard not to take one look at the model and start thinking, "Why can't I be as beautiful as her?" Many women, starting in elementary school, struggle with their body image and self-esteem. In fact, in a study of fifth graders, ten-year-old girls and boys told researchers they were dissatisfied with their bodies after watching a Britney Spears music video or a clip from the TV show "Friends" (University of Washington ). As a result, they admire these models because they look like the epitome of perfection. However, drawing inspiration from these models is neither practical nor healthy. Whether intentionally or not, the portrayal of female role models and unrealistic weight expectations in the media are, in part, responsible for several health and psychological problems in today's society. The media can be magazines, television, or the Internet, and all are easily accessible in the United States. Magazines in particular boast diet advice, exercise information, and unrealistic expectations about ideal body size and shape. They send a message to the reader: that to be attractive you must also be thin. The portrayal of the perfect body image is inevitable in today's society. As the standards are becoming smaller and smaller, the effect it has on women shows a similar trend. Magazines like Glamor and Vogue feature many images of thin models. In many cases, these magazines also contain articles interviewing a well-known... half of the newspaper... June 6, 2006. Network. January 14, 2014. Lockwood, Penelope, Christian H. Jordan, and Ziva Kunda. “Motivation through positive or negative role models: Regulatory focus determines who will inspire us best.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 83.4 (2002): 855. National Institute of Mental Health. "Eating disorders". NIMH RSS. National Institute of Mental Health, 2011. Network. January 13, 2014..Rian. “Star Magazine: Jessica Simpson's Diet Disaster.” Web log post. The skinny website. NP, August 27. 2013. Web. January 14, 2014..University of Washington. “Adolescent Health and the Media.” Adolescent health and the media. University of Washington, nd Web. 12 January. 2014..