Appearance culture and disordered eating behaviour as a means of shaping the ideal body in adolescents

Western appearance culture promotes the importance of the body andappearance. An attractive, slim body ensures success and acceptance in society.Images of perfectly shaped bodies create dissatisfaction with one’s own bodyand encourage the desire to achieve an ideal appearance. Physical appearancehas become an important construct among young people and adolescents.The majority of them regard their appearance as an important part of theirpersonality. To achieve a socially accepted slim appearance, young peopleadopt unhealthy eating habits. Strict diets and unhealthy eating habits canlead to the development of eating disorders. This paper aims to demonstratethe influence of the culture of appearance on the body image perception ofadolescents, emphasizing the unhealthy eating habits used to shape the body.A socio-cultural approach was used. The following environmental factors areseen as causes of body dissatisfaction and risks for the development of eatingdisorders: media, the family environment and peer groups. To summarize,among the socio-cultural risks, significant peer pressure stands out, underliningthe need for further research.