Do you like the way you look?

Almost one in 13 children ages 10 and 11 years old answered never or almost never when asked that question by researchers from Harvard University.

• The study found that among the 4,254 children interviewed, many felt pressure to have a perfect body even though they were only ten years old.
  
• Almost six percent of the girls who had normal weights nevertheless had poor body images.
  
• Among boys, 7.6 percent at normal weight disliked their bodies.
  
• Between 10 and 13 percent of the girls who were overweight or obese had poor body images, compared to about 8 percent of the overweight or obese boys.
  
• Boys tended to be dissatisfied if they felt too thin; girls tended to be dissatisfied if they felt they were too fat.
  

There is a well-established relationship between poor body satisfaction and increased risk of disordered weight control behaviors, including vomiting, fasting, and the use of laxatives and diet pills for weight control," Dr. Bryn Austin, author of the study, wrote in the journal BMC Public Health.

Labels: self-esteem, body_image

Posted By: Aspen/CRC