Body image, enhancement, and health in the advertising of sports and nutritional supplements

Abstract

This chapter explores the demand for dietary supplements as an example of the emerging cultural desire to maximize health and wellbeing. This is not to say that there is an inevitable trend towards what might be called physical and cognitive enhancement in society. Instead, it is to argue that concerns over body image and appearance are the physical and visual manifestations of deeper societal trends towards self-care and, conversely, a growing intolerance of imperfections in health and appearance. Dietary supplements offer a commercial outlet for these societal trends which ultimately place the responsibility for health and wellbeing on the individual rather than society.