Are you ashamed of your physical appearance? Do you avoid looking into mirrors? Is your worth determined by the reading on the bathroom scale?Negative body images and low self-esteem are a few of the problems addressed by an exhibit organized by Ohio State’s Body Image and Health Task Force.Located in Campbell Hall, the exhibit aims to analyze and understand the problems associated with poor body image and eating disorders. Titled “Bodies Under Siege,” the exhibit examines ideals of beauty and appearance with costumes, undergarments, artwork, and interactive displays.”We know that particularly on campuses eating disorders and body image dissatisfaction is rampant among women especially, but also among men,” said Dr. Nancy Ann Rudd, Ohio State associate professor in consumer and textile sciences and chair and co-founder of the university’s Body Image and Health Task Force.The exhibit focuses on behaviors people are willing to undergo to alter physical appearance and behaviors that are hazardous to one’s health, Rudd said.By using undergarments from OSU’s historic costume collection, the exhibit examines ways in which fashion has shaped public conception of an ideal physical appearance. The exhibit is organized into four zones, each with a different area of focus.The Restriction Zone displays the ways the shape of the human body has been altered by different garments. The Expression Zone is an exhibit showing the artwork of people suffering from body image disturbances. The Fitting Zone offers viewers an opportunity to examine different garments and devices used to alter the body. Finally, the Comfort Zone gives viewers a chance to record their thoughts and feelings about the exhibit.”We hope that people will leave the gallery and feel something,” said Jan Fonarow, a registered dietitian at OSU and co-founder of the task force. “Body image disturbances and eating disorders are all about feelings.”Fonarow hopes the exhibit will not only offer comfort to those suffering with body image distortions, but also allow people to understand the falsity of ideal body images.Liz Davis, director of the fitness program at OSU, agrees.”We want people to feel comfortable with themselves and not to feel that there is one way they need to be in order to have a positive body image,” Davis said.Davis is also a member of the Body Image and Health Task Force. Davis aims to help students understand that society portrays false images and recognize the false perceptions that exist in the media.Fonarow agrees that in order to have a positive body image students must recognize their feelings.”The message we want to convey is that feelings are okay,” Fonarow said. “The root of all dysfunction is dealing or not dealing with feelings.”The task force aims to evoke feelings and emotions through the exhibit.”We hope that people will look at this exhibit and find some of it amazing, other aspects disgusting and other areas appealing and reflective,” said Rudd.Rudd hopes that through the exhibit people suffering from body image distortions and eating disorders can be reached.”We hope viewers experience a number of emotions,” Rudd said. “The end goal is to raise awareness.”The exhibit is located in the costume gallery of Campbell Hall and will be open to the public during business hours through March 20.