Why women still chase the impossible dream.

• Position: Body Image - Brief article

How do some fashion and beauty magazines continue to attract devoted audiences even though they glamorize super-thin models that would seem to taunt normal-sized women? Research in the journal Health Communication suggests that some readers, rather than comparing themselves unhappily with the thin models, may derive "thinspiration"--the belief that they can make themselves look just as attractive as the models they see in magazines.

However, study author Silvia Westerwick maintains this is not any kind of positive inspiration. "Women get the message that they can look just like the models they see in the magazines, which is not helpful. It makes them feel better at first but, in the long run, women are buying into thinness fantasies that just won't come true."

How much of a fantasy is it? The study found that women who feel greater "thinspiration" by viewing images of thin models actually are less likely to engage in weight-loss behaviors. 'They felt better about their body instantly when viewing the images and...