A new report on Reuter's today says that America's obsession with beauty is posing serious problems for the health and economic well-being of women and young girls.
The report is based upon a study done by the nonprofit YWCA in the United States which said that women and girls are spending more and more money in their quest to look like idealized, air-brushed magazine models. The report, Beauty at any Cost, noted U.S. women spent some $7 billion a year, or an average of about $100 each, on cosmetics and beauty products. They mention that $100 a month, if saved and invested for five years, would pay for a full year of tuition and fees at a public college, the report calculated.
The report also cited that nearly 11.7 million cosmetic surgical and nonsurgical procedures were performed in the United States in 2007 -- a 446 percent increase in 10 years, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Botox injections as well as liposuction and breast augmentation are the most popular nonsurgical and surgical procedures.
It mentioned that weight loss and smoking are big issues among young women (as they have always been). I think that young women should try to put everything in perspective, and not spend all of their money on beauty treatments, and not start at such an early age. Once you start it can become a slippery slope, with the cost of upkeep as you go along...just think about highlighting your hair. But, I also think a lot of women get plastic surgery to address a certain issue about their anatomy like breast asymmetry or flatness, or a bump on a crooked nose, that has always been an area of concern to them. They are not all junkies or addicts, and sometimes the public has a skewed vision of what's going on because of reality shows like Extreme Makeover and Hollywood. I am glad the YWCA is shedding light on the issue.
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