Body Image & Wellness

Unattainable and idealized images of women’s and girls’ bodies are visible in every aspect of advertising and mass communication. Women and girls are bombarded constantly with messages that treat them as objects of sexual fantasy and exploitation or that demean them. Popular culture promotes unrealistic standards of beauty and makes women – particularly young women – susceptible to distorted body images, low self-esteem and psychological and eating disorders. The multi-billion dollar cosmetic surgery industry poses increased health risks for women, including life-long disfigurement. Researchers in our network are documenting negative messaging while encouraging a healthy representation of female beauty in which intellect, creativity and character trump thinness and physical perfection.

Female Circumcision: Police Investigating Claims UK Doctors Advised On Illegal Practice

Teaser:

A report by the Sunday Times says that as many as 100,000 woman in the UK may have been victims of female genital mutilation.

Editorial:

From the Huffington Post UK:

Claims that UK doctors were secretly filmed offering to perform and facilitate female circumcision are being investigated by police.

A report by the Sunday Times said that as many as 100,000 woman in Britain may have been victims of the practice, which is illegal.

Female circumcision is performed on young women around the world, but particularly in Africa, on cultural and religious grounds.

The News International newspaper claims to have recorded a dentist in Birmingham, Omar Sheikh Mohamed Addow, describing how the operation could be performed, including details on how the clitoris could be pierced and clamped.

[...]

Source:

Huffington Post UK

URL:

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/04/23/female-circumcision-police-investigation-uk-doctors_n_1444958.html

Date:

April 24, 2012

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

Fewer Workouts, Greater Health Risks for Women

Teaser:

A nationwide study, conducted at Oregon State University in Corvallis, found that women get only about 18 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per day, while men get 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise daily, on average.

Editorial:

From Everyday Health:

For objective results, the research team tracked the daily physical activity of more than 1,000 men and women across the country via accelerometers worn by the participants.

Published in the journal Preventative Medicine, their findings reveal women aren't even coming close to the recommended 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week. Stats from this study line up with the results of a recent survey from the American Heart Association, which found that only 12 percent of Americans report regular practice of three key healthy habits (good nutrition, exercise, and oral care). The biggest excuse was lack of time.

But failing to get 30 minutes of physical activity per day hurts your health, according to the study authors.

"It's pretty striking what happens to you if you don't meet that 30 minutes a day of activity," says Bradley Cardinal, PhD, a OSU professor of social psychology of physical activity who co-led the study, in a release. "Women in our sample had better health behavior. They were much less likely to smoke, for instance, but the lack of activity still puts them at risk."

[...]

Source:

Everyday Health

URL:

http://www.everydayhealth.com/high-cholesterol/0412/fewer-workouts-greater-health-risks-for-women.aspx

Date:

April 15, 2012

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

In Protest, Democrats Zero In On Men's Reproductive Health

Teaser:

For perhaps the first time in recent history, male reproductive health is at the forefront of political debate.

Editorial:

From NPR:

In at least six states, lawmakers — all women and all Democrats — have proposed bills or amendments in the last few weeks that aim to regulate a man's access to reproductive health care. It's their way of responding to the ongoing debate around contraception and abortion, said Jennifer Lawless, director of the Women & Politics Institute at American University.

Some would prohibit men from getting vasectomies, such as Georgia's House Bill 1116, which states:

"Thousands of children are deprived of birth in this state every year because of the lack of state regulation over vasectomies."

Others, like an amendment proposed by Oklahoma State Sen. Constance Johnson, restrict where a man can ejaculate, effectively outlawing all manner of sexual acts. The amendment says:

"Any action in which a man ejaculates or otherwise deposits semen anywhere but in a woman's vagina shall be interpreted and construed as an action against an unborn child."

And Ohio State Sen. Nina Turner recently put forward legislation that would require men seeking drugs like Viagra to first get a cardiac stress test to ensure their heart is ready for sexual activity. Oh, and they would also have to obtain certification from one of their recent sexual partners that they are indeed experiencing problems with erectile dysfunction. And they would be required to see a sex therapist before getting a prescription.

The bill states:

"The physician shall ensure that the sessions include information on nonpharmaceutical treatments for erectile dysfunction, including sexual counseling and resources for patients to pursue celibacy as a viable lifestyle choice."

[...]

Source:

NPR

URL:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/03/15/148695307/in-protest-democrats-zero-in-on-mens-reproductive-health

Date:

March 18, 2012

Affiliate:

Turning to Fairness: Insurance Discrimination Against Women Today and the Affordable Care Act

Submitted by asklar on Mon, 03/19/2012 - 10:47am

Through our research we have found that women are continuously charged more for health coverage simply because they are women, and individual market health plans often exclude coverage for services that only women need, like maternity coverage. The report provides an in-depth analysis of these inequalities and explains how the Affordable Care Act explicitly removes these discriminations by 2014.

Document(s): Turning to Fairness Report

URL:

http://www.nwlc.org/resource/report-turning-fairness-insurance-discrimination-against-women-today-and-affordable-care-ac

Member Organization:

National Women's Law Center

More is Sometimes Less: Women are Prescribed a Greater Number of Medications Than Men but Take Less of the Drugs They Need

Teaser:

There is a wide gender divide when it comes to how men and women are prescribed and adhere to their medications.

Editorial:

From the press release:

According to a new study, while women use more prescription drugs than men, they are less likely to be prescribed drugs according to clinical guidelines and are not as good about adhering to the medications they are prescribed. The research was conducted by Medco Health Solutions, Inc. and the Society for Women's Health Research and presented Saturday at Women's Health 2012: The 20th Annual Congress.

The study found that women of all ages use more medications - an average of five drugs, compared to less than four (3.7) drugs for men, and that more women than men (68 percent versus 59 percent) took at least one chronic or acute medication during the study period. The higher average persisted even after accounting for prescription contraceptives.

Despite higher utilization of medications, women were overall less adherent than men and not prescribed treatments in alignment with recommended guidelines as often as men. Differences were most dramatic among patients with cardiovascular disease and diabetes where women showed poorer outcomes than men in 25 out of 25 clinical measures.

For women, electing not to take a medication after they have already started could be due to a variety of reasons, including: adverse side effects; inability to tolerate the medication; or failure to see or feel improvements in their health. Some of these responses could be due to the fact that women are oftentimes prescribed drugs with guidelines and dosing based on research conducted predominately on male subjects.

[...]

Source:

Marketwatch

URL:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/more-is-sometimes-less-women-are-prescribed-a-greater-number-of-medications-than-men-but-take-less-of-the-drugs-they-need-2012-03-19

Date:

March 19, 2012

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

Expert Profile

Location:

United States

35° 7' 29.2764" N, 89° 56' 15.306" W

See map: Google Maps

Member Organizations:

Center for Research on Women

Lynda M. Sagrestano, Ph.D. is the Director of the Center for Research on Women at the University of Memphis. She earned a Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of California, Berkeley and held NIMH-funded postdoctoral fellowships at UCLA and the University of Illinois, Chicago. Her research interests include barriers to economic self sufficiency for women, maternal and prenatal health, adolescent sexual behavior, teen pregnancy, HIV prevention, sexual harassment in school, domestic violence, and gender and work stress. Her work is oriented toward applying psychological theory to understand and intervene on social problems and advance theory development. She collaborates with individuals in health and community agencies, to highlight the role of contextual factors in health processes and outcomes, with the goal of taking a more integrated approach to prevention and intervention in the public health sector.

Location

Memphis, TN 38152

United States

35° 7' 29.2764" N, 89° 56' 15.306" W

See map: Google Maps

Associated Issues & Expertise:

Sex, lies and media: New wave of activists challenge notions of beauty

Teaser:

The reality: Women make up 51% of the United States yet only 17% of seats in the House of Representatives. They're 3% of Fortune 500 CEOs and 7% of directors in the top 250 grossing films.

Editorial:

From CNN:

What's the connection? We live in a sexualized society where the gap between fantasy and reality is vast and harmful.

"Women are aspiring to do great things in leadership, yet the glass ceiling is still there because of the way media depict women," director and activist Jennifer Siebel-Newsom said. "It influences our culture and dictates our gender norms and values."

Siebel-Newsom's documentary, Miss Representation, is the latest cinematic foray in the movement to challenge portrayals of beauty in "the media," a term used to describe all forms of mass communication, from the internet, TV, film, magazines, radio and advertising.

[...]

Source:

CNN

URL:

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/09/living/beauty-media-miss-representation/?hpt=ibu_bn3

Date:

March 13, 2012

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

Some women feel naked without makeup

Teaser:

Nearly half of all U.S. women have negative feelings about their image when not wearing makeup and link "bare face" with being unattractive, a survey found.

Editorial:

From UPI:

This survey, conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of The Renfrew Center Foundation, also indicated one-quarter of the women surveyed began wearing makeup at age 13 or earlier.

Adrienne Ressler, national training director for the Renfrew Center Foundation, a non-profit charitable organization dedicated to the treatment of eating disorders, said the survey also indicated 16 percent said they felt unattractive when they didn't wear makeup, 14 percent said they felt self-conscious without makeup and the same number felt naked without makeup.

Source:

UPI

URL:

http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2012/02/26/Some-women-feel-naked-without-makeup/UPI-80421330318784/

Date:

February 28, 2012

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

Paid Sick Days in New York City Would Lower Health Care Costs by Reducing Unnecessary Emergency Department Visits

Submitted by asklar on Fri, 02/17/2012 - 11:47am

In New York City, 50 percent of working New Yorkers, or approximately 1,580,000 employees, lack access to paid sick days. This fact sheet reports findings from research by the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) on how increased access to paid sick days would improve both access to health care and health outcomes in New York City. The research also quantifies the savings gained by providing access to paid sick days to all workers, thereby preventing some emergency department visits in New York City.

by Kevin Miller, Ph.D., Claudia Williams (February 2012)

URL:

http://www.iwpr.org/publications/pubs/paid-sick-days-in-new-york-city-would-lower-health-care-costs-by-reducing-unnecessary-emergency-department-visits

Member Organization:

Institute for Women’s Policy Research

School Policies and Practices to Improve Health and Prevent Obesity

Submitted by asklar on Mon, 02/13/2012 - 4:13pm

National Elementary School Survey Results, School Years 2006–07 through 2009–10

URL:

http://www.rwjf.org/childhoodobesity/product.jsp?id=73923&cid=XEM_205602

GET INVOLVED

What We Do

NCRW is a network of leading university and community based research, policy, and advocacy centers with a growing global reach dedicated to advancing rights and opportunities for women and girls. We also have a Corporate Circle comprised of senior diversity professionals from leading U.S. and global member companies and a Presidents Circle of college and university leaders who share our commitment. NCRW harnesses the collective power of its network to provide knowledge, analysis, and thought leadership on issues ranging from reducing women’s poverty to building a critical mass of women’s leadership across sectors.

NCRW Blog

Body Image & Wellness

Location

Search NCRW