by Nancy Boland

Created on: April 15, 2009   Last Updated: April 16, 2009

Gorgeous boyfriend? Tick. Exciting social life? Tick. On trend outfit? Tick. Yet still millions of fraught modern day young women feel there's something wrong with their image...

With the onslaught of media influence at its highest and the level of body dissatisfaction at it's lowest. When will we feel good enough?

Across the country every day, young women scour the pages of magazines, scrutinizing their bodies and asking themselves, 'Why can't I look like that?' 'What is wrong with me?'

Friends, boyfriends, family members try to make us feel better, but somehow end up making us feel worse. In particular with the things they say. Meanwhile, women, young girls in particular look at their bodies and think 'I could look better'.

Even those who appear to have it all- a desirable' body, successful, smart, witty, a happy healthy lifestyle-ask themselves on a daily basis- Why am I so fat?' We all are it seems; struggling with the fact we feel inferior- almost on an epidemic level. When I talk to people, mainly young women, no one seems satisfied with their package. It's as if their perception of what they see and read doesn't match up with the image they see in the mirror.

Most women generally agree that their level of body displeasure runs parallel with the increase of media coverage. With the amount of pressure on young people rising the demands to be clever, entertaining, whilst balancing a social life and finding the energy to be beautiful 24/7 is immense. Really, they are left exhausted and, in many cases, feel worthless and undeserving.

When I was a young teenager a few years ago, I, like so many other of my peers struggled with body issues. Back then, I didn't particularly like what I saw in the mirror, I was bored of being 'fat', 'overweight', 'heavy' and counting every last calorie on one of my many attempts at dieting. I didn't have the perfect body back then. Of course I didn't. I was far too concerned with meddling with my metabolism, caring what other people thought and watching obsessively, every morsel of food that went into my mouth. I'd see the supposedly happy, skinny teens and I'd think, 'Why isn't my body like that?' I assumed all these skinny minnies with their high cheekbones and wide bush baby eyes were happy.

But I was in Starbucks in a well known city centre the other day when all these waif-like young women came in. They reminded me of those particular girls at school. They looked stunning, the type of girls who would really be envied by their peers.

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