Body Image

A person with a poor body image perceives his or her own body as being unattractive, while a person with a good body image will accept their own body or even find it beautiful. Body image has little to do with how others view you and more to do with your personal confidence in how you look – a person others think is beautiful can have a poor body image.

Because of the pressure to conform to ideals of beauty, many people have poor body image. They may struggle with eating disorders, seek plastic surgery, and/or battle low self-esteem.

Poor body image is not something that only women deal with. There are increasing numbers of men who have eating disorders and they too have to deal with comparing themselves to unrealistic societal standards of perfection.

What is more important than appearance is the health of your physical and emotional self. No matter what your body type, there are several things that you can do to keep healthy. Developing good eating habits and exercising are both very important. You can take small steps towards healthier eating, like:

• Make sure you eat breakfast, eating fruit between meals, not eating late at night and not over eating.
• If you are on the go a lot, keep healthy snacks in your car or carrying case.
• Exercising can be hard to do on a consistent basis, but taking the stairs instead of the elevator or walking instead of riding the bus when possible are good steps.

To benefit your emotional health, find activities that you like to do. Focus on the positive! Many activities can enrich you as a person and give other people an opportunity to benefit from your talents and strengths. You may consider becoming involved in sports or joining a school or community organization that captivates your interest. Don’t avoid fun or rewarding activities because you think that you don’t fit the standard of beauty—most of us don’t!

If you feel that you need someone to talk to about how you view yourself, find someone who you trust to confide in. You are not the first person to have to deal with body image, and there may be people around you who can share their struggle with you or tell you how they became comfortable with themselves. You may want to try talking to your parents, a trusted teacher or school counselor, or someone in your community that you respect. Surround yourself with positive people who are able to recognize and celebrate you - both your personality and physical appearance. Writing in a journal can be a good therapy method: it allows you to express your feelings and attitudes toward yourself freely. You may want to find other relaxation techniques that you can use when you begin to feel overwhelmed with thoughts of inadequacy.

And, if you do not have anyone you feel comfortable talking to, you can also write to one of the MySistahs peer educators. We are here to listen and help you!

If you know someone who is dealing with an eating disorder or think that they may have a problem resulting from a poor body image, you should try to help them. Talk to them about the critical comments that they make about themselves and listen to what they have to say. If you think they’re involved in dangerous behavior like starving themselves or taking drugs, tell someone who can help them, such as a parent, counselor or school nurse.

Remember: tall, short, thin, thick, light or dark—there is beauty in each of us!

Additional information and resources about body image issues:

Eating Disorders:

Anorexia is characterized by starvation, over exercising and extreme weight loss. Some of the symptoms include loss of menstrual cycle (for women), obsessive concern about weight or body shape, and determination to be under ones average weight for their age, body type and height.

Bulimia involves eating large amounts of food in a short period of time (binging) and then getting rid of the food by vomiting, abusing laxatives (purging) and over exercising. Symptoms include excessive concern about weight and body shape, repeated accounts of binging and purging and frequent dieting.

Compulsive overeating (binging) takes place when a person feels out of control and eats large amounts of food beyond the point that they feel full. People who binge may go on frequent diets to counteract their extreme eating habits and often struggle with obesity and depression.

“Enhancement” Surgeries:
In 2007 the number of cosmetic surgeries rose 2% from 2006. More than 11.8 million surgeries were performed and the top five were nose reshaping, liposuction, breast augmentation, eyelid surgery and face lifts (American Society of Plastic Surgeons).

Self-esteem:
Self-esteem is how positive or negative you feel about yourself. Having low self-esteem means regularly having negative thoughts and feelings about yourself. Having high self-esteem means being able to accept and value yourself no matter what. Your self-esteem can impact your school performance, relationships, and physical and emotional health. Taking good care of yourself, and seeking help from friends or even a counselor if you need it, are ways to keep your self-esteem high.

Learn more about body image issues at these websites:
http://www.kidshealth.org
http://www.4women.gov/bodyimage
http://www.teenwire.com/infocus/2005/if-20051018p388-body.php

>>Return to the Body Image Index