(Video) Barbie & Your Body: Does The Doll Distort & Lead To Eating Disorders? College Student Showed Ridiculous Life-size Version

April 26, 2011]------Has the iconic Mattel doll, Barbie, created dangerous, unrealistic body images in our society? Has this unrealistic expectation led to eating disorders among girls and women?

Some say yes and college student, Galia Slayen of Hamilton College, New York, set out to prove that Barbie's measurements would be impossible to achieve. She created a life-size version of the doll to fit the scale of the pint sized counterpart many little girls grow up idolizing.

With a measurement of a 39 inch bust, 18 in waist and 33 inch hip, Barbie was displayed on campus as part of an awareness week for eating disorders. Standing 7 ft tall and with those extremely ungainly measurements, Barbie did create a shock and awe atmostpehere on campus.

No one wanted to look like that. Slayen said she has had a personal brush with the dangers of body images that internalizing Barbie's perfection can do to young girls. She said she suffered from anorexia, trying to fit the 'thin and perfect' mold.

What do you think: Barbie contributes to body image problems or too much of a simplistic reason for a very complex problem which runs much deeper and goes back much further than Barbie? Is it more cultural than just the doll?