Body image
And eating disorders
What is body image?
Body image is the way you see yourself. Media and society have created the idea that being a "twig" is beautiful. Body image doesn't play a part in beauty in my opinion, not everyone will look the same or "perfect" Everyone looks different and unique and that's beauty. There is no specific way a body image should look, everyone is different.
Improving you body image
- Stop comparing yourself to other people, no one is perfect
- Avoid offending media
- Look for media that reinforces positive body image
- Be mindful of what you eat (This was you know exactly what's going in your body)
- When looking in the mirror, replace a bad thought with a good one.
Facts
- Only 5% of women have the body type that we see all over media.
- 42% percent of girls in 5th-12th grade said they wanted to lose weight because of the images they saw in magazines.
- 69% of girls in 5th-12th grade reported that magazine pictures influenced their idea of the perfect body.
- 42% of 1st-3rd grade girls want to be thinner.
- 81% of 10 year olds are afraid of being fat.
- In a study of first graders, boys and girls told a researcher they were dissatisfied with their bodies after watching Britney Spears music videos.
- Another study reports that 53% of american girls are "unhappy with their bodies" at age 13 and by the time they're 17, this increases to 78%.
- 5-10 million adolescent girls struggle with eating disorders.
- Eating disorders are usually in teens but they can start as early as age 8.
- Body dissatisfaction is the top ranked issue of concern for young people. (mission Australia 2014)
Some people see themselves different than how they really look
Avoiding judgement
We can avoid judging others by remembering that we aren't perfect either, everyone is unique. And think how you would feel if people judged you for the way your body looks.