Skin Deep

Percentage of men who look for very attractive women in the personals: 57

Percentage of women who look for very attractive men in the personals: 26

Percentage of men seeking thin women in the personals: 34

Percentage of women seeking thin men in the personals: 2

--University of New Mexico psychology study,

Sex Roles Journal, Vol. 11/12, 1990.

FEELING INADEQUATE

Percentage of women unhappy with their overall appearance: 38

Percentage of men dissatisfied with their body image: 34

Percentage of Americans who don't like their weight or abdomen size: over 50

-Andrew Kimball, Foundation on Economic Trends

SOLUTION #1: DIETING TILL YOU DROP

Weight and height of the average female model in 1980: 5'8", 117 lbs.

Weight and height of the average female model now: 5'8"-5'11", 110-115 lbs.

Weight and height of the average American woman: 5'3 1/2", 146 lbs.

Daily calorie intake prescribed by conventional weight-loss programs' diet plans: 945-1200.

Daily calorie intake of those the World Health Organization says are starving: under 900

--Body Image Task Force

Percentage of normal-weight women who want to be thinner: 70

Percentage of underweight women who want to be thinner: 23

--U.S. Department of Health and Welfare

Percentage of women aged 25-45 who are dieting: 56

Pecentage of 10-year-old girls who claim they're on a diet: 80

--National Institute for Compulsive Eaters

Percentage of people who regain the weight after dieting: 90-98

--Body Image Task Force

Money spent yearly on diets and related services: $33 billion

--Andrew Kimball, Foundation on Economic Trends

SOLUTION #2: NIPPING AND TUCKING

Number of Americans who undergo "aesthetic surgery" yearly: 1.5 million

Number of American women who have fat surgically liposuctioned from their bodies yearly: 250,000

Percentage increase in men undergoing cosmetic surgery in the last four years: 50.

--Andrew Kimball, Foundation on Economic Trends

Percentage of women who have stuffed their bras: 8

Percentage of men who have stuffed their shorts: 4

--Do You Do It With the Lights On?

(Ballantine Books; 1991)

SOLUTION #3: KNOWING THE MIRROR

Dollars spent every year on cosmetics and skin-care products by men and women: $10 billion

--Kline Company

Percentage of women who wear lipstick every day: 75

Number of times the average lipstick-wearer applies it daily: 2

Percentage of women who re-apply their lipstick more than eight times in an average day: 13

Percentage of women who hold their "do" with hairspray: 67

Percentage of men who hold their "do" with hairspray: 32

Percentage of women who have bottle-colored their hair: 27

Percentage of men who have bottle-colored their hair: 8

--Simmons 1990 Media and Market Study