Demi Lovato has slammed the TV and movie industry for "glorifying an unhealthy body image."

The 19-year-old singer-and-actress - who checked into rehab in October 2010 to receive treatment for self-harm and bulimia - thinks film and TV companies should "take more responsibility" about the messages their shows and motion pictures are carrying because they are putting "a lot of pressure" on young female viewers to be thin.

"I feel as if television and movies are now glorifying an unhealthy body image which puts a lot of pressure on young girls - and especially girls that are growing up and trying to find themselves. A lot of girls who are young are insecure, and they look to the media and what they see in magazines and everything else to see what they should look like. And I think that the film industry and the television industry should take more responsibility."

Demi - who has previously told how she started self-harming when she was 12 years old - has urged young girls who are the subject of bullying to seek help because it's "really dangerous" to keep thoughts bottled up.

"A lot of people ask me, 'Do you think it's because you started in the industry so young, or is it the pressures of being in this industry?' And I say 'no' because my problems were starting when I was 12 years old, 11 years old. I was bullied when I was 12, and that's when I got really sick and so it's been going on for a quite a while now, but finally I've gotten help. As much as it hurts when you're being bullied - always rise above it and also vocalize what's going on. You can't keep it inside. It's really dangerous to let your emotions bottle up or to let nobody know what's going on - you should really tell someone."