Body image is defined as one’s thoughts, perceptions, and attitudes about their physical appearance. Children begin receiving messages about body image from the time they are born. Many people in our society are very focused on external body appearance. The media sends messages about how a body should look. This is very influential on children. Children often begin associating their value with their external appearance instead of their value as a person.
Positive body image is a clear, true perception of your shape; seeing the various parts of your body as they really are. Body positivity (or body satisfaction) involves feeling comfortable and confident in your body, accepting your natural body shape and size, and recognizing that physical appearance says very little about one’s character and value as a person.
A negative body image, on the other hand, involves a distorted perception for one’s shape. Negative body image (or body dissatisfaction) involves feelings of shame, anxiety, and self-consciousness. People who experience high levels of body dissatisfaction feel their bodies are flawed in comparison to others, and these individuals are more likely to suffer from feelings of depression, isolation, low self-esteem, and eating disorders. While there is no single cause of eating disorders, research indicates that body dissatisfaction is the best-known contributor to the development of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
Body image concerns often begin at a young age and endure throughout life. We have started to see children express concerns about their own weight or shape by early elementary age. Furthermore, over one-half of teenage girls and nearly one-third of teenage boys use unhealthy weight control behaviors such as skipping meals, fasting, smoking, vomiting, and taking laxatives. It is important to note that the age of onset differs depending on the individual, and these body image concerns may start younger, or never come up at all.
As with eating disorders, body image concerns can affect us all. While all ages, genders, and cultures are equally at risk for body image issues, there are traditionally different triggers and appearance-related pressures depending on one’s gender. In our Western culture, girls often feel pressure to succumb to the societal appearance-ideal (sometimes referred to as the thin-, beauty-, or cultural-ideal), whereas boys are often faced with social pressures to be lean and muscular.
The body positive movement is making great strides to promote size diversity, body acceptance, and a healthier body image for all ages, genders, races, abilities, etc. It is important that we continue to embrace body diversity by recognizing all bodies as good bodies. While we all may have our days when we feel awkward or uncomfortable in our bodies, the key to developing positive body image is to recognize and respect our natural shape and learn to overpower those negative thoughts and feelings with positive, affirming, and accepting ones. Accept yourself. Accept your body.
It is important for adults to know the signs that are indicators of negative body image.
- Indications that the young person views self predominantly in terms of physical appearance
- Regular comments about the weight of others
- Expressions of concerns about attractiveness
- Excessive dieting
- Self-esteem issues
Adults can help boost a poor body image by:
- Avoiding comments about others and their body weight or external appearance
- Avoiding comments or focus on their own external appearance
- Reminding children that bodies change and grow
- Reinforcing that there are all different body types and shapes
- Not using terms such as fat
- Supporting focus on individual abilities of the child versus external appearance
- Discourage focus on body measurements
- Promoting healthy behaviors such as physical exercise and eating whole, unprocessed foods for internal health
