  When a new show becomes big hit, it's destined to also become a trendsetting vehicle. (Sun Media)
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She's a fashionable woman who likes to take care of herself.
She colours her hair blonde and, when she found herself pushing 40, went for a round of Botox injections.
She considered purchasing breast implants, and while she never got them, she distinctly remembers why the prospect of larger melons seemed appealing.
"Baywatch," she laughs, recalling the big-bosomed California-based TV life guards with golden, sun-kissed skin bouncing down the beach in matching red swimsuits.
"I almost got implants because of that show.
"I am glad I didn't because I've had hair extensions and ripped them out, had long fake nails and took them off, and I've had Botox and didn't like it. Being 40 years old, there's a lot of pressure to look young. It's almost like it's a crime to be a woman and get old. Jennifer Aniston's my age, but then again, she's Jen Aniston."
Speaking of Aniston, about five years after Baywatch's decade-long run (which wrapped in 1999), a new helping of small-screen babes arrived on the boob-tube with the debut of Friends.
The series quickly saw female fans flocking to their respective hair salons and ordering up "Rachel" hair, a mid-length layered do, styled with heavy product.
While I've never even seen the NBC sitcom, that didn't stop an overzealous hairdresser from snipping my long, straight tresses and turning them into wavy Rachel locks, circa mid-90s.
Afterwards I went home, sat on the side of the bathtub and cried, mostly because it was the type of cut that required a lot of work -- blow drying, hairspray and the daily use of a curling iron -- just so it wouldn't look like a hockey player's mullet.
When a new show becomes big hit, it's destined to also become a trendsetting vehicle, which is one of the reasons a Ryerson professor selected Friends as the backdrop for his recent research, which explores the effects sitcoms have on female viewers.
The study -- led by Dr. Stephen Want, an assistant professor in the university's psychology department and entitled The Influence of Television Programs on Appearance Satisfaction -- measured whether exposure to the show's svelte female cast members affected how university-aged women felt about their own appearances.
According to Want, viewers have a "tendency to make rapid comparisons of themselves" to TV show images, a media realm he says has remained largely unexplored, unlike fashion magazines and commercials.
The findings aren't altogether surprising.
Looking at the slender starlets of The Hills, Gossip Girl and 90210, it would be difficult to believe these impeccably styled, waif-like women weren't influencing viewers.
For the study, researchers recruited 76 female undergrads and placed them in one of four groups.
Some participants were given "intervention" material outlining the tips and tricks used in the entertainment biz to help make stars look even better on camera.
Another document contained information about the over-representation of thin characters on TV and the health risks associated with a low body mass index.
The goal of the literature, according to Want, was to exemplify that the image of small-screen stars is both unrealistic and unattainable.
The findings?
Viewers who weren't provided with the reading material before watching the segments from the show wound up feeling worse about their looks, whereas the gals armed with the handy industry info fared well when it came to their overall view of themselves.
With Friends now locked in syndication and the onslaught of skinny-chick offerings that have followed in its footsteps, perhaps we just need the right information in order to start seeing these small-screen beauties in a whole new -- and more realistic -- light.
After all, before jumping on the latest dieting bandwagon, darting off to copy the hottest clothing trend on the fashion radar, or booking an appointment to get the trendiest haircut going, it might be wise to ask ourselves the timeless adage, with friends like these, who needs enemies?
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NOT HAPPY WITH THE MIRROR IMAGE?
92% of young women across the globe say they want to change some aspect of their appearance
90% of teens ages 15-17 believe it is important to engage young girls in a discussion about healthy body image
55% of Canadian women are the most likely worldwide to say they'd like to change their body
51% of women say they wish their mothers had talked with them more about beauty and body image when they were growing upweight and were also the most likely to cite dieting as a beauty ritual in which they participate
2% of women describe themselves as beautiful
-- Source: Dove Global Study
