British department store Debenham's is receiving praise from eating disorder groups in the wake of its announced intent to start using size 16 mannequins.

"Debenhams, which stocks women's clothing up to a British size 26 in its stores, says 42 percent of its sales are garments in sizes 14 and 16," UPI reported. "Susan Ringwood, who heads the charity Beat, which campaigns against eating disorders, applauds Debenham's announcement.

Debenham's size-16 mannequins will be used in window displays promoting clothing by designers like Ben de Lisi, a favorite of actress Kate Winslet.

Many experts have criticized the fashion industry for promoting unachievable (and unhealthy) body images in advertising, claiming that such actions can lead to poor self-esteem, unhealthy body image, and the development of eating disorders among customers -- especially girls and young women.

Labels: self-esteem, fashion, great britain, body image

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

Positive body image -- the degree to which a person accepts and appreciates his or her shape and size -- is an important predictor of whether that person will achieve healthy weight and nutrition goals.

A recent study from University of New South Wales and Syracuse University found that young women who conform to popular body images and ideals are more likely to have a negative image of their own bodies, and are at greater risk of eating disorders. "Conformity can be seen as an attempt to gain security in a social network," the study concluded. [Source: Long Island Group Exercise Examiner]

Rather than trying to conform to societal images, young women are encouraged to learn about their own bodies and what's normal or healthy for them. The super-thin super-model look isn't normal for most people, and trying to attain it can cause serious health problems.

Labels: self-esteem, body image

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

In a Feb. 5, 2009, Calgary Herald article, reporter Michelle Magnan recounted conversations with five teens about pressures related to body image. As this excerpt indicates, the teens identified family pressures as among the more prevalent and destructive stresses they face:

• Lisa: With my friend, her mom really gets her down. She'll say, "What do you want for your birthday? Maybe we should get you a gym membership." I'm seriously surprised she hasn't had an eating disorder yet, because her mom puts so much pressure on her. And the more I talk about it, I know that a lot of people's moms say, "You should look a certain way," and they don't.

• Candace: I get it a lot from my mom all the time, like, "You should do this, you should go to the gym."And I say, "You know what? It's not my thing."And a lot of peers at school are really bad. They don't necessarily come out and say anything, but you can tell just by the way they look at you--the up and down glances.

• Alison: My mom goes between. She doesn't want to overdo anything, so she'll say, "Are you going to eat all that ice cream?" But then she'll say, "You didn't have a snack today. Why didn't you have a snack?" So it's walking a very fine line. Parents have a really hard time, I'm sure.

Many teenagers feel most pressured from family members to have a certain body shape. According to the teens who were interviewed by Magnan, family pressure outweighed any pressure they felt from seeing unrealistic images in the media and fashion industry.

Labels: body image, parents, pressures

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 2 Comments

Model Jennifer Hawkins graces the cover of the February 2010 issue of the Australian version of Marie-Claire magazine -- and her nude, unaltered, photo is causing a stir.

A Jan. 5 article on the Australian stuff.co.nz provided the following insights into the controversy:

The 26-year-old wears only make-up on the cover of the February issue of Marie Claire, which supports the Butterfly Foundation. The organization provides help to Australians suffering from eating disorders and negative body image issues and their carers.

Foundation general manager Julie Parker, speaking on Radio 3AW today, said the photo, which apparently shows 'flaws' including a slightly dimpled thigh and a tiny crease on her waist, was intended to get the discussion on body image rolling.

"What we're talking about here is just one small part of the much wider spectrum of body image, self esteem and eating disorder issues and that small part is actually about digital enhancement and retouching of images," Ms Parker said.

Labels: media_influences, body image, magazines, models

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

According to a Nov. 6 Chicago Tribune article by Patti Ahern, Doves Campaign for Real Beauty is continuing with two new ads that are designed to promote healthy body image and encourage productive parent-child communication:

Seventy percent of girls ages 8 to 17 believe they are not thin or pretty enough, according to a study commissioned in 2008 by the beauty brand Dove. That message is reinforced by the more than 77,000 commercials -- many featuring women airbrushed or otherwise edited to perfection -- by the time girls are 12 years old, the study found.

New ads by Dove called "Under Pressure" and "Onslaught" are aimed at counteracting some of those messages. &

The ads were designed as part of the Dove Self Esteem Fund, which helps educate young girls about a wider definition of beauty, said Kathy O'Brien, Dove's marketing director.

"We know girls today are under more pressure than ever as the onslaught of messages and images they constantly receive sets an unrealistic standard of beauty. As a result, too many girls are suffering from low self-esteem and developing hang-ups about their looks," O'Brien said.

Labels: body image, advertising

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

Gok Wan, a television personality in Wales, has delivered a petition to the British government, asking for students to be taught about healthy body image.

"Wan handed over a 45,000 signature petition asking Education Secretary Ed Balls to include the lessons in the curriculum as part of the Personal, Social and Health Education syllabus," the news website WalesOnline reported. "[Wan] was accompanied by 21-year-old Shona Collins who, as part of a Wans Channel 4 show How to Look Good Naked, has been investigating body image among British teenagers."

Collins survey revealed that 70 percent of teenagers have little or no body confidence, the WalesOnline article noted. The U.K. Department for Children, Schools and Families said ministers from the department plan to meet with Wan soon to talk about enhancing current curriculum options.

Labels: body image, schools, united kingdom

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

France has long been associated with fashion, and fashion has unfortunately been linked with unhealthy body image, so it would seem to follow that French teens are at great risk for developing unrealistic expectations related to body size.

Surprisingly, a three-year study involving about 500 French teens indicates otherwise. An Oct. 23 article on the British news website Times Online provided the following details about the research:

The teenagers tended to reject Kate Moss as an example of beauty, citing instead the pop star Beyonce and Amel Bent, the French singer. Most preferred a photograph of the celebrity Nicole Richie taken in December 2004 to one from August 2005, when she had lost weight.

Dorothee Guilhem, an anthropologist at the National Centre for Scientific Research, said that French teenage boys were attracted mainly to women who looked as though they liked their food. "Feminine corporal portliness is not necessarily judged to be ugly by the boys," she said, quoting a 19-year-old as saying: "For a woman, it's normal to have a bit of fat. Its a sign of good health."

"The study contradicts the belief that France was following the U.S. and Britain on the road to obesity and eating disorders," reported Times Online writer Adam Sage.

Labels: body image, france

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

A 44-year-old judge on a popular British dance competition show has revealed that he continues to experience eating and body image problems decades after struggling with anorexia. An Oct. 18 article on the website stv.tv provided the following details:

Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood has confessed that he still has problems with his eating habits. The choreographer suffered from anorexia in his 20s.

He told Weekend magazine: "I think I've still got an eating disorder.

"I can eat healthily to a point then I will crack and binge - pizzas especially. I know I shouldn't, but I can't help it."

The 42-year-old admitted that the pressure of being a dancer led to have problems with his body shape.

Craig added: "When I looked in the mirror, I felt fat, so I didn't eat. Obviously, I couldn't have been fat at that weight, but I felt it."

Labels: anorexia, body image, celebrities, dance

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

Germans most popular womens magazine -- Brigitte -- recently announced that it will stop using professional models. Instead, it will feature real women in its photo spreads. The move is part of an effort to encourage physical health and end the media-fueled promotion of poor body image.

"Andreas Lebert said the move is a response to readers increasingly saying that they are tired of seeing protruding bones from models who weigh far less than average women," the Associated Press reported. :Fashion centers around the world have begun trying in recent years to combat the size 0 look that has come to dominate the fashion industry."

On its web site, Brigitte called the change "a new epoch." The magazine also encouraged women to submit photos of themselves to be considered for upcoming photo shoots.

Labels: self-esteem, body image, size 0, modeling

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

Someone who looks in the mirror and sees an unfit, unattractive, fat person (no matter what the reflection really looks like) has a distorted body image. This mental health issue affects millions of women -- and millions of men, too.

"Male eating disorders are under-diagnosed because society lacks awareness of them and men are less likely to admit they have this medical problem and seek help," Roberto Olivardia, a clinical psychologist at McLean Hospital in Massachusetts, told McClatchy Tribune Newspapers.

Olivardia, who co-authored The Adonis Complex: The Secret Crisis of Male Body Obsession, told McClatchy that he estimates as many as five million men may be affected by body image issues. Causes for distorted body image in men are unknown, as research is still in its infancy.

Labels: body image

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

Five campus organizations have united to present Body Image and Eating Disorder Week at the University of Notre Dame. The weeklong campaign, which started Oct. 1, includes panel discussions, art exhibits and even movie screenings.

An Oct. 2 article by Nora Kenney of The Observer Online provided the following information about the awareness effort:

The event began on Thursday with the "Love Your Body, Love Thee Notre Dame" poster campaign as well as a guided tour of the "Thin" exhibit with Steve Moriarty, Curator of Photography at the Snite Museum.

"I'm just really excited about this week, and the reason I'm so excited is that there is unity in trying to get this message out," Mandy Lewis, president of Feminist Voice, said. Lewis said eating disorders and negative body images are both huge issues on campus as well as in society.

"The whole point of this week is to tell you that you're not alone. This is a huge problem," she said. "This is not just an individual problem. This is a reflection of societal problems."

Labels: awareness, body image, eating disorders

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, more than 60 percent of elementary and middle school teachers say eating disorders are a problem in their schools.

The average age for the onset of anorexia is now between 9- and 12-years-old; it used to be between 13- and 17-years old.

Chicago Tribune writer Heidi Stevens addressed this issue:

If you sense a body image problem [in your child], [clinical psychologist Brian] Alman recommends initiating a conversation – don't wait for your child to bring it up. And start positive. "Talk about what’s right about your child," he says.

"What's right about your body, what's right about your ways of dealing with friends, school. That way the kid feels loved and accepted.'"

Alman also advised being open and honest with your children about past struggles you had with body image or peer pressure to look a certain way, Stevens reported. Sharing your own experiences can help your children feel more comfortable sharing theirs, he said.

Labels: body image, children, peer pressure

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 1 Comment

Wales Assembly Member Bethan Jenkins thinks teaching kids about body image and self-esteem in school could help prevent eating disorders. With this in mind, she's asked the Education Minister for a national curriculum.

Wales Online reported the following about Jenkins' efforts:

Her campaign comes amid concerns that 11 and 12-year-olds  especially girls  are already comparing themselves to pictures of emaciated models widely used by the media. Ms. Jenkins, who chairs the National Assemblys cross-party group on eating disorders, said: "I believe that it is important that young people learn about their bodies from an early age"

UK studies have found that six out of ten teenage girls suffer from poor self-esteem, and think they'd be happier if they were thinner. Ms. Jenkins is asking for body image and self-esteem sessions to be added to the personal and social education (PSE) curriculum.

Labels: body image, education

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

In an effort to highlight how the degree to which some people with eating disorders have skewed views of their own bodies, the British news website MailOnline invited four women to describe how they see themselves.

The results, which were posted June 26, are stunning. The following is the account of Racheal Baughan, a 27-year-old author and entrepreneur who runs her own modeling agency:

In the same way someone who wants a sex change doesn't feel like they're in the right body, I don't either. But unlike them, I don't know what body I should be in.

I see my eyes as bulging, yet somehow also sunken with purple bags underneath. I hate my nose, and I also think the right-hand side of my face is different to the left. It makes me uncomfortable if friends even walk on that side of me - I have to switch places.

I see my lips as flat, and the top one doesn't match the lower lip. My neck is too long and makes me feel like a duck, my eyebrows are too high and in my mind's eye my skin is always covered with acne.

I think that body-image problems have been with me all my life. Even when I was four years old I was so shy. I remember being at a party when I was that age and looking around, thinking how I was different from the other children.

Baughan and the others who were featured in the MailOnline article show symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder, a preoccupation with a minor or nonexistent body flaw. Many men and women who suffer from eating disorders are also afflicted with an unrealistic image of their own bodies.

Labels: self-esteem, body image, self-image_issues

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

The Center for the Study of Collegiate Mental Health at Pennsylvania State University recently conducted a national survey of college campuses, which found that body image concerns weigh heavily on the minds of college students.

[Body image concerns] are often linked to depression, anxiety, hostility, social anxiety and family issues ...

Away from their families for the first time ... college students often feel [isolation that] may prompt the dangerous dieting that many times leads to an eating disorder. (Source: The University of Oregon Daily Emerald)

The line between dieting and an eating disorder can be a fine one, and concern over weight or eating habits are not necessarily "red flags." However, adolescents, teens, and young adults who worry about fitting in with a particular group, or who obsess over a certain body type, may be at greater risk for developing an eating disorder.

Though often thought of as a condition that affects only girls, eating disorders among young people can have devastating effects on boys, girls, young men, and young women.

Labels: college_students, body image, eating disorders, causes of eating disorders

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

Actress Scarlett Johansson, whose resume includes the renowned films The Horse Whisperer, Lost in Translation, and Vicky Christina Barcelona, made a recent appearance on one of the Internet's most influential political blogs to take the media to task for promoting unhealthy attitudes that she believes can lead to disordered eating.

In an April 13 Huffington Post article entitled "The Skinny," Johansson decried the intrusive attention that she believes may prompt film fans to undertake dangerous weight-management practices:

According to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), as many as 10 million females and 1 million males living in the US are fighting a life and death battle with anorexia or bulimia.

I'm someone who has always publicly advocated for a healthy body image and the idea that the media would maintain that I have lost an impossible amount of weight by some sort of "crash diet" or miracle workout is ludicrous. I believe it's reckless and dangerous for these publications to sell the story that these are acceptable ways to looking like a "movie star."

It's great to get tips on how to lead a healthier lifestyle, but I don't want some imaginary account of "How She Did It!" I get into and stay in shape by eating a proper diet and maintaining a healthy amount of exercise. The press should be held accountable for the false ideals they sell to their readers regarding body image -- that's the real weight of the issue.

Many health experts have noted an association between unhealthy body image and the onset of an eating disorder such as anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating disorder.

Labels: body image, pressures, causes of eating disorders, celebrities

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

Susie Orbach is reportedly the psychoanalyst who treated Princess Diana for her eating disorders. Confidentiality agreements prevent her from confirming that, but she has taken her years of experience treating numerous patients and put them into a book, Bodies, where she addresses damaging misconceptions about body image.

"The author of Fat is a Feminist Issue and a professor at the London School of Economics, Orbach... writes that 'the postmodern body is in crisis.'...what Orbach is attempting to draw attention to is the fact that we don't question where this massive discontent stems from and why the numbers are epidemic."

Halfway through her book, Orbach breaks away from her traditionally anonymous case studies on body image and begins to name names. Specifically, she takes a hard look at the tyranny of the fashion, celebrity, and diet industries that make millions of dollars by telling people they're not acceptable the way they are. Source: The Daily Beast

Labels: body image, self-image_issues

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

White adolescent girls still lead all other groups for eating disorders, but a new study indicates that more boys are increasingly over-dieting and using techniques like purging for weight control.

Dr. May Chao of Wesleyan University in Connecticut studied trends in adolescent weight control over a ten-year period, from 1995 to 2005. White adolescent girls are more likely to diet, purge, over-exercise, take diet pills and suffer from bulimia and anorexia than other groups. However, Dr. Chao found that a steady increase in the number of boys, especially Hispanics, participating in such weight control behaviors.

She believes that social pressure to achieve unrealistic body ideals is increasing, and that puts males at risk for being dissatisfied with their bodies and developing eating disorders.

This study appears in the International Journal of Eating Disorders.

Labels: body image, pressures, influences

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

Many parents worry about the health of their children. Eating disorders and negative body images are becoming more common. There are steps that parents and other family members can take to help children build healthy self-esteem.

"Teach children that their self-worth is not related to how they look. Emphasize their talents and qualities. Don't focus on their physical appearance. Give children healthy choices, and teach them to make informed decisions about what they eat. Involve them in planning meals, shopping and cooking."

Though the steps may seem simple, they can be very effective in building a foundation for healthy eating and healthy self-image. Read more at NEDIC.ca.

Labels: self-esteem, body image, healthy eating

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

Christine Mercer-Vernon is a fine artist who has moved from painting flowers to painting people. Specifically, painting women. Mercer-Vernon started participating in an art therapy class with women and young girls who struggled with eating disorders. The experiences caused her to re-evaluate what she was painting and why.

"As she worked with the patients, her work started to change. It began to focus on body language and the human form  character instead of beauty. The York artist started painting portraits of women to show what people look like and how they feel."

One of her paintings, titled "Aware", depicts a curvy woman as though she's being looked at from behind. The painting was recently purchased by a woman who said she "got it" and that she herself feels that aware of her body when she knows someone is looking at her from behind. Read more at EveningSun.com.

Labels: body image, recovery, support

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

This week is National Eating Disorder Awareness Week. The National Eating Disorder Association's theme for this year is "Be comfortable in your genes. Wear jeans that fit the REAL you."

"Too often individuals struggle against their natural, genetically influenced size just to fit into that pair of 'skinny jeans' in the back of their closets. Fighting your natural size and shape can lead to unhealthy dieting practices, poor body image and sometimes eating disorders."

The National Eating Disorder Association is hosting several Great Jeans Giveaway events across the nation. The events are intended to encourage women to giveaway those "skinny jeans" and learn to be comfortable in jeans that are made for their body type.

Read more at NationalEatingDisorders.org.

Labels: awareness, body image, dieting

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

All of the girls at Blazer High School in Ashland, Kentucky were given permission to attend a presentation on eating disorders where Shannon Cutts shared her story of recovery.

"'I thought I was the only one. I thought I was born flawed,' said Shannon Cutts of Houston, Texas, who fought eating disorders for 14 years before recovering and launching a career as a singer-songwriter and motivational speaker."

Shannon tells of the cultural conditioning and media portrayals of beauty that reinforce negative body images, and cause girls as young as 4th graders to feel as though they're overweight. Read more at DailyDependent.com.

Labels: media_influences, body image, recovery

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

One key to fighting or preventing eating disorders is to develop a healthy body image. Unfortunately, in this day and age, it's often harder than it sounds.

"Children watch and imitate what they see. They can pick up on their parents' attitudes and concerns about food and eating. Teach them to like themselves the way they are, and to enjoy healthy food and exercise in moderation."

Teaching positive self-talk is another great tip. Read more online.

Labels: body image

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

Men and women are different is so many other ways, it may not come as a surprise that their responses to body image issues are different as well. In a study conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 222 women and 151 men were observed.

"'In a nutshell,' [Kristen] Harrison said, 'we found that, following exposure to ideal-body images, men who are insecure about their bodies eat more in front of other men, while women who are insecure about their bodies eat less in front of other women.'"

Though the differences in eating habits where slight, they came after less than 45 minutes of exposure to "ideal-body" images and text. Multiplied by the thousands of hours of exposure each year, there's potential for the development of serious eating disorders. Read more at ScienceDaily.com.

Labels: body image

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 0 Comments

Body Dysmorphic Disorder is defined as a preoccupation with a non-existent or slight defect in appearance. People who suffer from BDD become obsessed over freckles, the shape of their nose, or their weight. Not all who are diagnosed with BDD have eating disorders, but many who have eating disorders can be diagnosed with BDD.

"BDD is a chronic condition and may lead a person to engage in extreme avoidance behaviors and might even lead to clinical depression and suicidal behavior. BDD usually begins in adolescence - a time when people are generally most sensitive about their appearance."

Parents of kids who struggle with BDD are encouraged not to offer too much reassurance, as it can actually make things worse. They are also advised against scheduling too many trips to dermatologists or plastic surgeons, as the real problem is not physical but psychological. 

Labels: body image

Posted By: Staff Writer 1 Comment

While it may not be the root of all evil, it is certainly the root of the evils that cause eating disorders. The National Women's Health Information Center has a section on their web site that addresses the importance of a healthy body image.

"Developing and nurturing a positive body image and a healthy mental attitude is crucial to a woman's happiness and wellness!"

The web site offers suggestions for building a healthy body image. You can also download a BodyWise Handbook that has fact sheets for recognizing eating disorders and suggestions for treatment and for building a healthy body image.

Labels: awareness, body image

Posted By: Staff Writer 1 Comment

Women and girls who struggle with eating disorders are often known to struggle with body image issues, too. But a recent study out of Brigham Young University found that even women who appear to have healthy self-esteems also subconsciously struggle with this problem.

“In the study, a group of women seemed unlikely to have body image issues – at least… their responses to a tried-and-true psychological screening presented no red flags. That assessment changed when Brigham Young University researchers used MRI technology to observe what happened in the brain as these women viewed images of complete strangers.” (Source: Brigham Young University)

Images of overweight women triggered an area of the women’s brains that is associated with identity and self-reflection. It’s a striking discovery that reveals just how much women are affected by the barrage of images and advertisements telling them “thin is in.”

 

Labels: body image

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 1 Comment

College cheerleaders are prone to eating disorders, and how severe their disordered eating becomes partly depends on how revealing their cheerleading costumes are, according to research from the University of South Carolina.

Prof. Toni Torres-McGehee and her colleagues found that 33% of the 136 college cheerleaders in their study had eating disorders, compared to less than 5% of all female college students. However, if their cheerleading team had a costume that reveals the midriff, they were most likely to have an eating disorder.

"Teams and coaches should consider the long-term effect of requiring cheerleaders to wear revealing uniforms simply for aesthetic reasons," Dr. Torres-McGehee said in a report presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine.
 

Labels: college_students, body image, influences

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 1 Comment

Some teenage girls want to find Prince Charming; others want to take on the world and be the first woman president.

Crystal Renn wanted to have a gap between her upper thighs like the models she admired.

• Crystal's diet became steamed vegetables three times a day with a protein shake at lunch, and sugar-free game and Diet Coke for snacks.
• When she went out for dinner, she would tell the server, "I'll have the lettuce."
• She joined two gyms so people would not notice how often she worked out.
• On weekends, she worked out four hours a day. She frequently passed out from exhaustion.
• Later she deplored how she looked in her pictures at that time, writing that her face had a blank stare, probably because all she was thinking about was food.

Crystal has overcome her disordered eating, and now has a successful career as a plus-size model. But the pain and suffering she endured in pursuit of an unrealistic (and unhealthy) body is all too familiar to the tens of thousands of women and men who remain in the throes of

dangerous diet plans

and other forms of disordered eating.

 

Labels: body image, dieting, calorie_restriction

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 1 Comment

Young people who have distorted body images of themselves think of themselves as overweight and ugly, even while they are dieting down to starvation levels.

• Body image distortion can start in the grade school years; however, dieting to lose weight usually begins in the preteen years.
• By high school, about 12 percent of all students are using extreme weight control measures such as fasting, laxatives, vomiting after overeating, and over-exercising.
• About 2 percent have full-fledged eating disorders, and these are related to body image distortion.

Dr. Janet Liechty, a professor at the University of Illinois, believes that parents and healthcare professionals should address the issue of distorted body images. Her study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health concluded that addressing this issue would be the best way to "catch" children with eating disorders at the earliest possible ages.

Pediatrician Paul Aschinberg agrees.

"We are bombarded every day with images of what we're supposed to think is an ideal body type, and that's not always healthy or realistic. When young people are repeatedly exposed to these images, the image in their brain is that their body is different and not good. They begin to think they are overweight when they are not," he said.

"The goal should be on developing healthy eating habits, not on achieving a certain number on the scale," Aschinberg added. "This is something parents should teach children before there is a problem, before they are too skinny or too fat."
 

Labels: body image, self-image_issues

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 1 Comment

People who struggle with eating disorders typically also struggle with distorted body image. In fact, a new study has found that recognizing body image distortion is the most important step in identifying teens who are at risk of developing eating disorders.

“’Body image distortion is when perceptions don’t match up with reality,’ according to Silver Cross pediatrician Dr. Paul Aschinberg. ‘And sometimes perceptions can be more important than reality.’… Aschinberg says those feelings of inadequacy can take firm root in grade school. Preteens will then begin thinking about ways to achieve their perception of the ideal body…” [Source: Chicago Sun-Times]

Unfortunately, body image isn’t something physicians typically check, so parents need to talk with their child’s doctor about it. There is so much emphasis on overweight children, that those who are at a healthy weight are often overlooked.

Labels: teenagers, body image

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 1 Comment

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 1 Comment

Sophia Bush, an actress from the TV show One Tree Hill, recently used her personal blog to slam clothing chain Urban Outfitters, for selling a t-shirt that simply says “Eat Less.” Though the phrase is a movie-scene reference, Bush feels it sends a destructive message when placed on a t-shirt. Not only did she promise to stop shopping at the store, but she demanded restitution as well.

“You should issue a public apology, and make a hefty donation to a women’s organization that supports those stricken with eating disorders. I am sickened that anyone, on any board, in your gigantic company would have voted ‘yes’ on such a thing, let alone enough of you to manufacture an item with such a hurtful message. It’s like handing a suicidal person a loaded gun. You should know better.” [Source: Sophia Bush Official Website]

Bush’s outrage is due, in part, to the overwhelming response she received from One Tree Hill viewers when her character – a fashion designer – launched a campaign called “Zero is Not a Size.” There is no word about how Urban Outfitters plans to respond, if at all.

 

Labels: fashion, body image, pressures

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 1 Comment

Though the world is slowly waking up to the fact that body image issues and eating disorders don’t just affect females, a new study has found that men and boys still feel ashamed, unnoticed and unable to get professional help.

“The stigma around males and body image means males find it even harder to acknowledge they have an eating disorder and seek help. Males showing signs of eating disorders are less likely to be recognized and diagnosed by professionals including GPs and psychiatrists.” - Source: MediLexicon

These days, men face as many unrealistic expectations as women – though the expectations are different. Instead of being expected to be thin as a rail, men feel pressured to have six-pack abs, lots of muscle and not an ounce of fat. Organizations like the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) are working to raise awareness and eradicate the stigma so that men can get the help they need.
 

Labels: boys, men, body image

Posted By: Eating Disorders Help Guide 1 Comment