Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest one of all? This old quote continues to be meaningful as today's media bombards us with messages that impact how we feel about our bodies and our self-worth. These media messages can also ultimately impact our health.

Eating disorders are complex conditions that arise from a variety of factors, including physical, psychological, interpersonal and social issues. Media images that help to create cultural definitions of beauty and attractiveness are often acknowledged as being among those factors contributing to eating disorders.

Media messages screaming "thin is in" may not directly cause eating disorders, but they help to create the context within which people learn to place a value on the size and shape of their body.

To the extent that media messages like advertisements and celebrity spotlights help our culture define what is beautiful and what is "good," the media's power over our self-esteem and body image can be incredibly strong.

According to a recent survey of adolescent girls, the media is their main source of information about women's health issues. Another study of mass media magazines discovered that women's magazines had 10.5 times more ads and articles promoting weight loss than men's magazines did.

A study of one popular young women's magazine over the course of 20 years found that in articles about fitness or exercise plans, 74 percent cited "to become more attractive" as a reason to start exercising, and 51 percent noted the need to lose weight or burn calories.

A study of 4,294 network television commercials revealed that one out of every 3.8 commercials send some sort of "attractiveness message," telling viewers what is or is not attractive. These researchers estimate that the average adolescent sees more than 5,260 "attractiveness messages" per year.

Encouraging the media to present more diverse and real images of people with positive messages about health and self-esteem may not eliminate eating disorders entirely. But it would help reduce the pressures many people feel to make their bodies conform to one ideal and, in the process, reduce feelings of body dissatisfaction and ultimately decrease the potential for eating disorders.

One way to influence the media to change the way they focus on the so-called "ideal look" is to sign up to be a "media watchdog." To do this, join My NEDA (part of the National Eating Disorders Association) at www.edap.org to receive updates and to sign on to letters of praise and protest.

Keep your eyes and ears open to TV, radio and magazine messages that are positive or negative and send notices of items worthy of praise or pursuit.

Attend the panel discussion "Different Voices on Standards of Beauty" at 7 p.m. tomorrow in the HUB Auditorium. There will be tables outside the auditorium where you can become a more visible media watchdog. Sign off your concern on images presented in ads in current magazines. These will be mailed to the various companies advertising.

Check out the "Calculations for the Perfect Woman" exhibit in the HUB Gallery, on display through tomorrow.

Above all, don't let the media tell you how you should feel about yourself.