Walking in Memphis

The authors looked at survey data on more than 5,500 males aged 12-18 years whom they followed from 1999 to 2010. Think about it: When this survey started, Ryan Gosling was just Ryan Egg, and still substantial numbers of respondents reported levels of concern with thinness and muscularity grave enough to lead to anorexia, bulimia, depression, and alcohol and drug abuse.

While I haven’t personally experienced the ill effects reported by some study participants, I can totally relate to their feelings of inferiority. If only I’d been more buff, perhaps Lisa Marie would have noticed me. But if she had invited me over to her house, I don’t know if I could have kept a straight face around those peacock stained-glass doors. I guess that’s all right, mama.

David L. Hill, M.D., FAAP is the author of Dad to Dad: Parenting Like a Pro (AAP Publishing, 2012). He is also vice president of Cape Fear Pediatrics in Wilmington, N.C., and  adjunct assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He serves as Program Director for the AAP Council on Communications and Media and as an executive committee member of the North Carolina Pediatric Society. He has recorded commentaries for NPR's All Things Considered and provided content for various print, television, and Internet outlets.