Slimness equals beauty?
By Kaman Leong

"Necessities" for Miss Chou.	Cosmetic companies like ~H2o+ also have weight-loss products.

Have you spotted many skinny girls on the street? Do you know that one of young girls' favourite topics is how to be slim? Have you noticed that there are more and more weight-loss advertisements in magazines? 

Moreover, here comes the Hong Kong film "Love on a Diet," which is about how to keep fit. Bombarded with perfect body images, many girls ultimately think that being thin is the best way to show their beauty. So slimness is... or, should say, being thin is almost equal to beauty in many girls' minds.

Many cosmetic companies come out with weight-loss products to cash in on the popular trend of being slim. There are varieties of ways being promoted as a one-shot solution to obesity or imagined obesity. 

For example, there are some food supplements or body lotions for people who want to lose weight. These food supplements such as Calorie Limit and Perfect Slim (promoted by Fancl House) are said to function to control calorie intake of the body. These tablets can be taken after a meal so that to control the absorption of calories. And the body lotions such as ~H₂O+, Body Control Lotion are advertised as being able to reduce fat in the body. Apply the lotion on the part of the body believed to be corpulent, and you can, supposedly, achieve the ideal body in a shortest possible time. 

"I have tried many ways to lose weight and now I'm on a diet again because all my friends are very slim. You can't stand to be the fattest person among your friends, right?" said Miss Chow (she prefers not to give her full name). Although she looks pretty slim, she is still buying weight-loss products regularly. She said she takes nine tablets every day. Taking pills before and after meals has become a routine habit for her as she took out her "necessities" of pills from her handbags.

"I don't think I'm very thin now. I want to be thinner!" She said with determination.