A study of 4,200 children found that more than 7 percent were dissatisfied with their bodies, mostly because they compare themselves to ideal images depicted in magazines, television, video games, and movies.
Researchers from Harvard University and the University of Alberta interviewed children ages ten and eleven years old from Nova Scotia, asking them if they agreed with the statement, "I like the way I look."
- Just as many boys as girls were dissatisfied with their bodies.
- The poor body image was not necessarily related to being teased at home or school for being too heavy.
- Girls were happiest about themselves when they were their thinnest; boys expressed dissatisfaction if they were too thin or too fat.
- Girls from rural areas whose families had little education were most likely to be dissatisfied with their bodies.
Professor Paul Veugelers of the University of Alberta said that he was surprised to find young children dealing with an adult issue.
"We're talking about children, so these things are not so much triggered by hormones, so what is it that is triggering it?" he said. "Blame does go to media and fashion, where the slimmer you are the better looking you are."
Lead author Dr. Bryn Austin said that "the main concern with body dissatisfaction is it increases children's ability to develop an eating disorder and can be linked with poor nutrition and an increase in unhealthy weight gain later in life."
This study appears in the journal BMC Public Health.
Labels: self-esteem, body image
Posted By: Jane St. Clair
