TV Brings Eating Disorders to Fiji

	IN FIJI, gaining weight used to be a sign of good health and attractiveness. Not anymore. Since Western television arrived in the Pacific Island country in 1995, Harvard researchers have discovered a shocking new trend of bulimia, anorexia, and Western-style dieting among adolescent Fijian girls.
	A Harvard Eating Disorders Center study, which spanned 1995-98, found that girls who watched television three or more nights a week were 50% more likely to say they were "too big or fat," and 30% likelier to diet. In a 1998 survey, 15% of girls said they had tried to control their weight by vomiting. Fiji currently has one TV station, which beams in programs from the U.S., Australia, and the U.K. Among the most popular programs are "Melrose Place," "Beverly Hills, 90210," and "Seinfeld."
	Researchers are also linking these trends to heightened stress. As the global economy changes, Fijians are under increased pressure to keep up. Their community-based culture clashes with the images of "rugged individualism" that Western television presents as a picture of success.