ATHENS, Ohio -- All around us messages scream that our bodies don't conform to some culturally defined ideal of beauty and attractiveness. Research shows that an average adolescent sees over 5,000 "attractiveness messages" per year through the media. Is it surprising, then, that 80 percent of American women are dissatisfied with their appearance?

Celebrate Every Body Week, March 4-9, is dedicated to helping celebrate and appreciate the natural body shape and to promoting understanding that a person's physical appearance says very little about his or her character and value as a person.

Now in its third year at Ohio University, Celebrate Every Body Week, coordinated by the Multi-Disciplinary Eating Disorder Task Force, includes several events to raise campus and community awareness of positive body image and of the prevalence and seriousness of eating disorders. In addition to the CEB Health Fair at Ping Center, where university students will be able to take turns smashing a scale, a special program will be offered for medical professionals noon Tuesday, March 5, in Grover Center room E228, to help them create a "safety zone" for disordered eating clients. The seminar "Eating to Compete" will address the stresses of good eating patterns specific to athletes at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 7, in Bentley Hall room 236.

"The week truly is about celebrating every body type, about helping people to realize that each of our bodies is unique," said Amy Allaire, associate director of fitness at Ping Center. "Our focus is on promoting a health-based model for life instead of a weight-based model."

A special session at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Morton Hall room 237 will address the media's influence on eating problems in this country. Although many people know the projected media image of women has grown gradually thinner over the last three decades, the average idealized American white woman is between 13 and 19 percent below healthy body weight. Fewer people know the trend has begun to shift to target women of color and men in order to maintain markets for dieting products. Likewise, the population suffering from eating disorders is shifting. The presentation will critique popular media presentations of men and women across ethnic and cultural groups.

All presentations are open to the public with no admission charge. For more information about scheduled events, contact Amy Allaire at 593-9918.