Eating disorders and the media.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: In June 2015, the newspapers in England once again pointed at the media industry as responsible for the spread of eating disorders.

RECENT FINDINGS: This article reviews this argument and previous research on the role of the media industry in the perpetration of images that may foster eating disorders.

SUMMARY: It has been recently argued, coherently with previous research, that the media may be responsible for the spread of eating disorders. This article reviews this literature, and evaluates what the real role of the media in the spread of eating disorders is. The article argues that considering the portrait of thin models in the media industry as responsible for eating disorders is a misanalysis of the problem and evaluates some of the more profound reasons that may lead to the adoption of the disordered eating symptomatology.