In a recent survey of 29,000 young women, 35 percent of them admitted that body image in their biggest concern. They worry more about body image than they do about family conflict, alcohol problems or even the environment.

"But what are the sacrifices that young women are making to attain the unobtainable, and what dangers lie in their obsession with body image?... 'Young women do compare themselves to images they see in the media - but only 1 percent of people could actually look like that,' [Queensland University of Technology psychologist Dr. Evonne] Miller says."

Some experts believe the eating disorder and obesity epidemics are closely tied together. When the body is deprived of nutrition, it begins storing more and more food at fat. When a person then begins to eat more "normally" the body is still storing an increased amount of fat and excessive weight gain is more likely. Read more at News.com.au.

Today's teens deal with so many pressures. Therapeutic boarding schools can help teenagers who feel overwhelmed and find themselves unable to deal with things in positive ways.

Labels: body_image, media_influences, pressures

There's so much emphasis lately on "fighting obesity" that some doctors and child psychologists worry kids will take the barrage of messages to the extreme and develop eating disorders. Though the goal is to teach kids how to eat healthy, it's possible - according to some experts - that all they're hearing is that "fat is bad".

"The hospital has seen pre-teens and teens who attended school-based obesity prevention program, 'who then decide they're going to be the best kid at not getting fat, who then end up losing so much weight that they put themselves medically at risk,' [Dr. Leora] Pinhas says."

The detrimental effects of these messages are real. Hospitals are now seeing eating disorders in children as young as seven. Read more at Canada.com.

Private high schools, like Mount Bachelor Academy, offer accredited academics and powerful emotional growth programs.

Labels: influences, media_influences, prevention

There's so much emphasis lately on "fighting obesity" that some doctors and child psychologists worry kids will take the barrage of messages to the extreme and develop eating disorders. Though the goal is to teach kids how to eat healthy, it's possible - according to some experts - that all they're hearing is that "fat is bad".

"The hospital has seen pre-teens and teens who attended school-based obesity prevention program, 'who then decide they're going to be the best kid at not getting fat, who then end up losing so much weight that they put themselves medically at risk,' [Dr. Leora] Pinhas says."

The detrimental effects of these messages are real. Hospitals are now seeing eating disorders in children as young as seven. Read more at Canada.com.

Private high schools, like Mount Bachelor Academy, offer accredited academics and powerful emotional growth programs.

Labels: influences, media_influences, prevention

The pro-ana, or pro-anorexic, subculture has been around for years. But now technology is making it easier for "pro-anorexics" to find each other through websites and discussion groups.

"One of the primary symbols in these groups is the 'goddess Ana.' Group participants personify anorexia and bulimia by giving them feminine nicknames - Ana and Mia. Members talk about praying or talking to Ana, frequently deified as a goddess or angel, and asking her for support."

It's common practice on many of these discussion groups for participants to post information about their current weight and their goal weight. Many will also post before and after pictures and ask for verification from the group that they are indeed losing weight. Read more at DigitalYouth.com.

Labels: pro-ana, support, trends

For the past two years, psychotherapist Jane Baxter Cibel, Ph.D. has been treating patients with eating disorders, addictions and depression using an innovative approach called PsychFit. PsychFit combines psychological counseling with mild exercise such as walking on a treadmill.

"By conducting traditional psychotherapy during exercise and physical fitness coaching, PsychFit improves cognitive functioning at the same time it builds muscle, said Baxter Cibel. 'It repairs habitual negative and self-sabotaging thinking, which feeds depression and drives self-destructive behaviors.'"

Baxter Cibel believes that PsychFit works, in part, because physical activity is known to improve a person's mood and self-esteem.

Labels: exercise, therapy, treatment

The British Fashion Council this week called for magazines and advertisers to voluntarily reduce or eliminate the number of airbrushed and digitally enhanced photos they produce for release to the general public. The push came after the council concluded that such manipulated images of fashion models and entertainment stars "perpetuate an unachievable aesthetic".

"It is a tragedy that young women may be starving themselves to match a body shape that exists only on a computer screen. It's too soon to see if editors and art directors will be able to wean themselves away from their airbrushes, but for most the decision may come down to economics."

A magazine's goal is to sell copies, and advertising is meant to sell products. If editors believe either bottom line will be hurt by the use of more "realistic" images, changes aren't likely.

Labels: advertising, marketing, media_influences

Currently, in the country of Wales, there are no residential centers available for the treatment of eating disorders. But officials plan to change that and have called for a national strategy aimed at treating and preventing eating disorders.

"While local community provision for sufferers does exist, Ms Jenkins said people who reached a more critical stage of the illness had to go to England for residential care. Work is underway to provide residential spaces for children and young people with mental health problems, at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend."

In addition, the Graham Menzies Foundation has applied for a multi-million dollar grant that would partially fund a residential treatment facility for several years.

Adolescent residential treatment centers like Youth Care and Island View can offer teens a structured environment as get help for their issues and earn academic credits.

Labels: awareness, prevention, treatment

A study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has found that the more someone understands the genetics behind anorexia, the less likely he or she is to blame an anorexic patient for their illness.

"'This is a potentially important finding because it suggests that wide dissemination of information about the biological and genetic underpinnings of anorexia nervosa could help decrease the blame-based stigma that is associated with the disorder,' study author Michele A. Crisafulli said in a prepared statement."

The study was conducted with 115 undergraduate nursing students who were given information either about the genetic and biological factors or the environmental factors of eating disorders, and were then asked to rate factors that might contribute to anorexia. Students who read about the genetics and biology were less likely to blame the patient for his or her condition.

All girls schools like Copper Canyon Academy help remove the pressures that many girls face when they attend a public school. Copper Canyon Academy boarding schools for troubled girls offer excellent academics and therapy.

Labels: causes of eating disorders, genes, study

Over the past year, studies have found that regular family meal times are effective in reducing a child's likelihood for drug or alcohol abuse. Now, another study has found that it may also help adolescents who struggle with eating disorders.

"A new study shows family meals do play a large role in promoting healthy eating among girls. University of Minnesota researchers found the routine of sitting with family during a meal could decrease a girl's chances of having an eating disorder or extreme weight control issues."

Not only do family meals give parents the chance to monitor what their children are (or aren't eating), but it also helps the family stay more connected, which typically results in a healthier self-esteem.

All girls schools like the program at New Leaf Academy offer girls a homelike setting. Your daughter attends school and lives with her peers who become her family.

Labels: meals. family, prevention

A study conducted in the UK has found a dramatic increase in the number of patients being treated for eating disorders. The increase means that more hospital beds are being occupied by eating disorders patients, which leaves less room for other patients.

"While the average as of sufferers was 24, under-15s made up a fifth of the total, 25 percent more than 2005/06. Findings also reveal that NHS hospital admissions for bulimia increased 9 percent to 150."

A spokesman for the eating disorder charity Beat said the organization is "delighted" that data from the study is being release so that people can better understand the extent of the problem.

The Aspen Institute offers emotional behavior disorder assessments and treatment for troubled teens.

Labels: awareness, hospitals

Paul Nyhan, writer for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, made a different kind of New Year's Resolution this year. Instead of committing to put a few extra dollars in the savings account or spend less time at the office, Nyhan is determined to help his now-2-year-old daughter prepare for the media and culture onslaught that can result in a negative body image.

"Today, involved dads are entering unfamiliar territory, such as body-image anxiety. They want to help, but don't always know how, said Harvard Medical University researcher Dr. Nancy Etcoff. When Etcoff gives a speech these days, dads ask a lot of the questions."

Most dads want to help their daughters have healthy self-images, but they don't know what to do or say. Experts suggest that dads encourage interests outside of fashion and media outlets. Quality time with daughters is also key to helping developing healthy self-esteem.

Animal assisted therapy, like the program for troubled teens at Aspen Ranch, help teenagers deal with a variety of emotions and issues.

Labels: fathers, influences, self-image_issues

A recent study of Swedish twins has found an unusual correlation between the level of estrogen in amniotic fluid and a child's development of anorexia. The study found that, among fraternal twins (two eggs, one male and one female), the boys were ten times more likely to develop anorexia than boys who were identical twins.

"Estrogen would be present in the amniotic fluid that bathes babies in the womb and would be swallowed by both the male and female twin. Estrogen is needed in development of females but it is possible that too much affects the structure of the brain."

The results support other studies which have found that brain activity is very different between anorexics and non-anorexics.

There is also a strong relationship between brain activity and development and learning disorders. Read more about children with learning disabilities and find boarding schools for learning disabilities at LearningDisabilitiesInfo.com.

From pre-Halloween through the Super Bowl parties, people who struggle with compulsive eating find themselves in a season where every social gathering is fashioned around food. It's often considered the single most difficult time of the year for compulsive eaters.

"There is enormous social pressure to eat... Social messages connect food to celebration, love, entertainment, socializing, etc., which increase the tendency to overeat. This all comes at a time of year when other activities are becoming less available due to changes in the weather. Food then becomes overly important as a way to satisfy emotional needs..."

Emotions are a primary driving force behind compulsive eating and include intense feelings of remorse and guilt. Someone who struggles with overeating needs to be aware of his or her "triggers" and seek support from friends and family.

Labels: binge_eating, recovery, support

Near the tail-end of 2007, we started seeing an abundance of television commercials featuring an excited Valerie Bertinelli announcing that she was just three pounds short of realizing her goal to lose 40 pounds. On the surface it seems like the rallying cry that women are longing for: "you can lose the weight you want to lose", but columnist Connie Schultz also sees the negative impact it can have on countless girls and young women.

"For too many, every glance in the mirror triggers a default button of self-loathing. And that's what Bertinelli's corporate sponsor counts on each time it recruits another overweight actress to diet for public consumption... The message is always clear, whether it's through a celebrity, usually a female, or just another chunky stranger, also usually a female: She hates herself, and you should, too. But we can help."

Schultz goes on to say that many diet programs simply exploit the self-loathing that's often created, in part, by their ad campaigns and teach women to see themselves nothing more than a dress size.

Labels: dieting, media_influences, self-esteem

Two years ago, actress Aisha Tyler appeared in a Glamour magazine article titled "I Don't Want To Be Perfect!" which included two pictures of her - one airbrushed and the other un-touched. Since then, she's joined Dove's Self-Esteem Fund where she helps girls across the country learn to love their bodies - no matter the shape or size.

"The best we can do is realize and understand that [fashion model] images are manipulated so we don't get seduced into believing that a 5'11" model who weighs 112 pounds is either realistic or healthy, and also that these ideals of perfection don't even exist for that model, who probably starves herself, is unhealthy because she smokes to stay thin, and needs all that airbrushing and retouching because she has terrible skin and all the other problems that all real, living, breathing women have. Of course, there are obviously some women out there who were just born tall and insanely thin and stay that way naturally. And they have their own problems just like everyone else."

Tyler goes on to say that trends are shifting in the fashion world, as designers realize that most women can't buy a size zero, forty-thousand-dollar suit.

Good therapeutic boarding schools can help teens with academics as well as emotional or behavioral problems. Visit TherapeuticBoardingSchool.com for more information.

Labels: celebrities, influences, role_models