Significant progress has been made in understanding the basis for most body image and unhealthy eating problems. Unfortunately, we have not seen the same progress in preventing these concerns. As a result, body dissatisfaction among American women is rampant. In efforts to control or shrink their size, roughly two-thirds of females engage in some type of plan to limit calories or food groups at any given time. Individuals who restrict their eating for weight loss frequently miss out on important nutrients, are preoccupied with hunger, and feel like "failures" when their cravings for food naturally drive them to satisfaction. If this isn't bad enough, "feeling fat" and "dieting" for weight loss are primary risk factors for eating disorders.
The negative impact of these problems is extending to younger and younger children. Studies report that almost half of 3rd to 6th grade girls want to be thinner, regardless of size. At a time in their lives when children should feel secure in their body's growth, developing confidence in the habits that will help them to become healthy adults with healthy weights, American kids worry about size, fear that food will make them fat, and eat in ways that are detrimental to health and well being.
Torn by their own body angst, many mothers feel insecure about intervening, fearful that their budding daughters might be excluded for taking up too much space. Fathers do not know what to say when their naturally rounding girls ask "am I fat? " Boys are increasingly affected, as the national obsession with avoiding fatness has now become pervasive. No one of any age, gender or size can escape the barrage of messages to "lose some weight. "
While weight can be lost on virtually any contrived plan to limit food intake, between 85% and 95% of this weight lost is preedictably regained, with over half of all dieters gaining more weight than they lost. Despite this, "dieting" continues to be embraced as the solution for the "wrong" body in the United States. But as the drive to be thin has prompted pervasive weight loss efforts, America's rate of fatness has only increased. In light of this failure, how can we persist in exporting the "diet mentality" and the comercial products it has spawned to other cultures as well?
Clearly much is wrong with this picture, and a new perspective is needed. The good news is that we now know enough to to teach the next generation of children a better way. Based on prevention principles recognized by experts in the field, the Model for Healthy Body Imagewas developed as a comprehensive guide to challenge cultural myths that promote unhealthy body images and eating.
BodyImageHealth.org will introduce you to a Model for Healthy Body Image, and provide you with a variety of resources to help children, adults, and yourself to develop a positive body image, effective eating habits, nutritional health, fitness and weight.
