I wonder if Carmen Electra- hell, Jennifer Lopez, Carrie Underwood, Lucy Liu, Beyonce- look in the mirror and doubt their beauty. Society says they're beautiful. Society tells them they're beautiful. Little girls put pictures of them on their walls- but yet, as a society, we second guess these gorgeous women.

Is it any wonder that Nicole Richie is scary-skinny? One week, she's on the cover of Seventeen- and the next, a picture of her w/ out eyeliner is all over the Internet. "Look at her- she has baggy eyes!"

The media needs to stop giving such mixed messages. They tell us that self-esteem is the most important thing; they assure us that "big is beautiful," but yet they put girls like Mischa Barton on magazine covers.

I have no problem with Mischa, except I think she could use a cheeseburger, or five. (But not from Steak & Shake, because their burgers are itty bitty, and they basically suck.)

And yes, America has a weight problem. But what's being done to fix it? Physical Education is still not federally mandated. School lunch's sodium levels are still insanely high. McDonald's' commercials are still heard on Nick at least 5 times an hour.

I'm nowhere NEAR being a model example, but here's what I think. American children-and yes, esp. teenagers- need to get up off their overweight butts, stop playing basketball on a 7x5 inch screen, and put down the bag of Doritos (/Cheetos/Twinkies/100-calorie Oreos). They need to put on a pair of tennis shoes- with laces, not Velcro, because it's just sad how few second-graders can tie a bow- and go outside.

Because, if they're going to be stealing cars and picking up prostitutes (& please, don't even get me started on Grand Theft Auto, ugh), something productive must come of it. If they're running from the cops for real, at least they'll be burning calories.

Learn more about this author, Rhiannon P.
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