Why are American women dissatisfied with their bodies?

American women have a problem.

You can't blame it 100 percent on the media, although researchers estimate women see 400 to 600 images each day promoting weight loss, or a "thin look."

Neither are family and friends unduly responsible for this problem. But they have been shown to contribute.

The bottom line is, most women in this country are dissatisfied with their bodies, according to psychologists and nutritionists. Studies show as many as 86 percent of American women want to lose weight, and girls as young as age 5 have been shown to engage in dieting.

"Body-image dissatisfaction is an epidemic among women," said Katherine Beals, a dietician and associate professor in the University of Utah's nutrition division.

While there is no one reason why so many women struggle to love how they look, researchers believe culprits include the media, family and also historical views of women's bodies as aesthetic objects.

Nicole Hawkins, a psychologist and director of clinical services at the Center for Change in Orem, works with people struggling with anorexia, bulimia and other eating disorders.

From her perspective, groups such as the media, clothing companies and the weight-loss industry help contribute to an overarching "message of perfectionism" that women receive from society.

Consider: Many of the images women see from these groups are of models who have been digitally airbrushed to unrealistic proportions, according to Hawkins.

One recent example is a Ralph Lauren advertisement. The model in the ad had been digitally slimmed to the point her head was larger in width than her waist. Recent news reports say the model was fired from her contract, and some speculate it was as result of her weight. She is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 120 pounds.

Another situation involved singer Kelly Clarkson, who was digitally slimmed in a recent cover photo for Self magazine.

The photo of Clarkson was to highlight an article in the magazine in which the singer said she was confident with her weight. An editor of the magazine defended the retouching, saying it regularly alters images in an effort to "inspire women to want to be their best."

Hawkins, however, believes women and girls react negatively when confronted with these fashion images. In one study, she said, young girls were given fashion magazines to view. After three minutes flipping through the pages, nearly 70 percent of the girls in the study admitted they felt "depressed, guilty and shameful," according to Hawkins.

"The technology in terms of airbrushing photos is the best it has ever been," she said. "These images women see are the most unrealistic that have ever been. And young women, when comparing themselves to the images they see in magazines and even on television, they feel inadequate."