Pick up nearly any magazine, turn on any TV, or watch any movie and you will see gorgeous women parading around in next to nothing. Their skin is porcelain, their hair and make up are flawless, and they are skinny.

These women are perfect, the apparent peak of feminine beauty. No matter how many times the phrase, "It's what's on the inside that counts," is repeated, it will not change the fact that the outside is what gets noticed. If anyone ever says differently, propose this: when catching sight of someone across the room for the first time, it is impossible for the average individual to register that person's character before appearance. You cannot see a person 30 feet away and infer anything about his or her personality without first taking note of how they look, dress, and stand. These are all on the "outside." Finding what is "inside" takes time.

Attraction is natural. It is how males and females compete for mates in the wild so that reproduction and the continuation of the species can occur. However, the extreme standards created by professional models and other visual icons are not natural. Yes, some women are blessed with high metabolisms, slim bodies and round curves from birth, but the average American woman is not. A healthy weight is no longer considered skinny enough.

Between 5 and ten million girls and women in the United States suffer from some sort of eating disorder. Children as young as 5 years old are unsatisfied with their bodies. And though no child should ever be concerned with his or her appearance, many have a reason to be. One in every five children in the United States is overweight.

The first time I had ever heard of cellulite was from an infomercial selling a work out program specifically designed to reduce the cellulite on a woman's legs and butt. I remember them showing images of average women in shorts and bathing suits to compare with images of women who had used the advertised product. Afterwards I went to my mirror to compare what I looked like. Needless to say, I have been obsessed ever since.

Being body conscious does have its perks. I've always been fit and I eat relatively well. I don't like most fatty foods and try to refrain from snacks and sweets (chocolate being my eternal kryptonite). But in exchange, I'm not always comfortable in my own body. My girlfriends and I see images of perfect women all around us in our daily lives. This is what the infamous they say we should look like. Now here comes the crazy double standard: boys don't agree.

Most of my guy friends will gaze lustfully at cover girls and supermodels, but actually have their eyes caught by girls on the pudgier side. A small amount of healthy fat on a girl (using the terms girl and woman interchangeably) gives her those curves that send a man's heart thumping. Models may look stunning in photos but see them in real life and you'll want to shove a few burgers at them - hence the paradoxical problem.

I'll use a recent event to illustrate. I was eating at Bellevue Square with my boyfriend when a beautiful woman walked by. She was probably somewhere around 6'3" with a very slim but proportional build and long, thick black hair. Her facial features were delicate and she was stylishly but casually dressed. As soon as she passed by my boyfriend turned to me and proceeded to surreptitiously ask if I just saw that sickly skinny woman walking by. Point made.

It's hard if not impossible to ignore the images of these striking women that parade around us and invade our personal space. I know I can't, but I also know that I'm not in danger of an eating disorder because I simply love food too much. My advice is to be healthy. Healthy people are happier and live better lives. The best way to achieve a great body is to eat healthy and exercise. Fad diets and eating disorders won't ever get you what you want out of life.

Kyra-lin Hom can be reached at kl_hom@yahoo.com