I often talk with patients about the distorted images about our bodies that industry and the media widely propagate. It’s hard to live in our society and yet avoid thinking that we all need to look like Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie in order to be attractive.

This is particularly true for women: I recently read research suggesting that only 12% of U.S. women are very satisfied with their attractiveness and only 2% describe themselves as beautiful.

In many discussions I have with patients, we ultimately come to the conclusion that the only people who look like Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie are…Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. And that we don’t have to look like them to be healthy, happy, or attractive.

But, as the video below suggests, not even Brad or Angelina actually look like the unattainable, air-brushed, make’d-up versions that we see on TV, billboards, and magazines!

I just found this video, but you may have seen it back in 2006 when it was created as part of a marketing push by Dove called the Campaign for Real Beauty. While their goal was to sell Dove products, it is a testament to them that they shed some light on this (and a shrewd marketing campaign).

I’d like to stop this post now, but can’t help but add one more thing: if you now go to www.CampaignForRealBeauty.com, you get to a website owned by Medifast, the commercial diet company, which sells the typical “weight loss at all costs” message (and products).