A Model of Success: AMA Adopts Students’ Resolution on Body Images

“It’s amazing to feel that we may, in some small way, have had an impact on the fashion industry and reestablishing healthy and realistic body image standards,” said Aaron George.

Mr. George, chair of the Medical Student Section Governing Council (MSS) and a student at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Jaimon Stucki, a student at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, authored a resolution to discourage advertisers from altering ads that oftentimes promote unrealistic body images. It was adopted by both the Pennsylvania Medical Society and the American Medical Association.

The students’ resolution quickly generated a flurry of national media attention , including coverage in the Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, New York Times, and ABC Nightline, just to name a few.

It’s common for advertisers to digitally alter photographs of their models, oftentimes portraying body images that are only attainable with the help of photo editing software.

The new policy encourages advertisers to work with organizations concerned with the health of children and adolescents to develop guidelines to discourage the alteration of photos in ways that create unrealistic expectations about body image.       

“In one image, a model’s waist was slimmed so severely, her head appeared to be wider than her waist,” said Barbara McAneny, MD, who sits on the AMA board.

Multiple studies have shown the powerful effect of media on adolescent body self-image, as well as the link between media exposure and the likelihood of having symptoms associated with eating disorders and depression.