What changes is her self image and from experience I can tell you that often there is little a husband can do to fix that. Our opinion is suspect, precisely because we love our wives. Even mine and my wife will tell you that I have a long track record of brutal honesty when my opinion is solicited (“Yes honey, that outfit does, in fact, make you look fat.”) Sadly, my giving her my honest opinion about looking bad in something carries much more weight than my honest opinion that she looks hot in something or looks great nude.

I think women are genetically predisposed to see themselves heavier then they are and are equally predisposed to latch onto, and believe, any negative thing they perceive to have heard.

While I think men can help, I think it is important for all involved to remember that we can only help as much as we are allowed to help.

I think it might also be mentioned that many men prefer women who aren’t thin or even “average size”. The fashion industry simply ignores this. At the risk of speculation, I think some of this might have to do with the influence of homosexuals in the fashion world: they design clothes that are not necessarily meant to make women look like women or to flatter women with fuller figures.

It would be impossible to find a universal body type that everyone would find most attractive. My own favorite is definitely on the chubby side, which my wife has. Aside from the fact that most women don’t look like those in the media, it is important to remember that many guys like it that way.

And some people, of course, naturally tend toward being thin-and there’s nothing wrong with that either. The probably is that the media has been pushing borderline anorexia, or even out right anorexia on the public for a long time.

For some, at least, and perhaps most people, it should not be so much a matter of accepting that you can’t meet certain standards set by the media, but understanding that those standards themselves are flawed at best.

In all honesty, I think that women one might see in the average grocery store tend to look quite better than TV and movie stars.

Keep in mind also that the media has a vested interest in making women feel less than perfect because this way they can sell more diet, exercise, clothing, and all sorts of other products to the public!