Nicola Moors from the University of Sheffield’s Forge Press investigates whether the media damages the self-esteem of the public through Photoshopped images:

’What’s important is to remember is that people should be judged on the type of person they are, not for how they look,’ says Rachael Johnston, a recovering anorexic from Warrington, Cheshire. In a country where an estimated 1.6 million people suffer from an eating disorder (National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence); these are perhaps the wisest of words.

In today’s society, too high a priority is placed on looks, and often women are told that an unobtainable body image is ‘perfect’. Everywhere we look, we are being told by magazines and advertisements that our face is too wrinkly, our thighs aren’t slim enough and our breasts aren’t big enough. Last year 10,003 women had their breasts enlarged while 3,070 had liposuction (a 6.2% and 6% rise respectively from 2010 despite the recession). In fact, during 2011, over 43,000 men and women had cosmetic surgery showing the societal pressure for people to look slim.

Full story here.