What Is Body Image?
Our body image begins to form at an early age and can be influenced by our parents, caregivers, peers, and life experiences. We often think of body image in terms of physical appearance, attractiveness, and beauty. Our body image relates to how we feel about our bodies and what we think our bodies look like to others. In some cases, our perspectives may not be objective.
Remember that every body is different. We all have different genetics, which influence our facial features, body shape, height, and weight. Even if everyone ate the same things and did the same amount of exercise, we still would not all look the same.
The ideal body weight is the weight that allows us to feel strong and energetic and lets us lead a healthy life. Someone with a healthy body has the energy, for example, to spend time with friends, participate in sports and/or other physical activities or recreational pursuits, and concentrate on school or work. Individuals should avoid comparing their bodies with those of their friends or the people shown in advertisements and on television. Don’t rely on charts, formulas, or tables to dictate what the right body weight is for you. Instead, eat balanced meals full of nutritious foods and participate in moderate to vigorous exercise regularly.

Body Image Thoughts and Behaviours
Body image is another factor that can have a major impact on mental-emotional health (including self-esteem and self-concept). An ideal body weight is a weight that allows us to feel energetic and lets us lead a healthy lifestyle, including physical activity and healthy eating. It is important to remember that healthy, attractive bodies come in many shapes and sizes. Try not to compare yourself to the unrealistic images on television and in magazines. Leading a healthy lifestyle will allow you to feel good about yourself and have a positive body image.
Today’s society places a major emphasis on appearance and beauty, promoting body image that is not realistic for most people. This can lead people to feel dissatisfied with their appearance, which can put them at a greater risk for engaging in dangerous practices to control weight and size, such as disordered eating and exercise compulsion.
List five examples of thoughts and behaviours a person would exhibit with:

Positive Body Image Thoughts and Behaviours:

List five examples of thoughts and behaviours a person would exhibit with:

Negative Body Image Thoughts and Behaviours
Answers:
Positive Body Image Thoughts and Behaviours:
Healthy, balanced diet; Engages in regular physical activity; Displays self-confidence; Feelings of attractiveness; Respect for their body; High self-esteem; Happy, positive mood
Negative Body Image Thoughts and Behaviours:
Dissatisfied wit appearance; Belief that their body is being judged by others; Excessive body checking (ex. Weighing); Preoccupation with body; Feelings of shame/embarrassment; Avoid social situations; Disordered eating

How Big Is the Body Image Problem?
Poor body image increases the risk for extreme body/weight control behaviours. Researchers have found that increased preoccupation with appearance and body dissatisfaction put people at greater risk for engaging in dangerous practices to control weight and size (e.g., extreme dieting and exercise compulsion). These behaviours can lead to more harmful behaviours that can put an individual at risk for developing disordered eating or an eating disorder.

Canadian Statistics on Eating Disorders
1.A recent study showed that 27% of Ontario girls 12 to 18 years old are engaged in disordered food and weight behaviour (Jones, et al).

2. Eating disorders are now the third most common chronic illness in adolescent girls (Adolescent Medicine Committee).

3. Health Canada found that almost one in every two girls and almost one in every five boys in Grade 10 either was on a diet or wanted to lose weight (King, Boyce, and King, Chapter 7).

How Do Positive and Negative Body Image Differ?
We have a positive body image when we have a realistic perception of our bodies and enjoy them just as they are. Positive body image involves understanding that healthy, attractive bodies come in many shapes and sizes, and that physical appearance says very little about our character or value as a person. Having a healthy body image means that we keep our assessment of our bodies separate from our sense of self-esteem, and it ensures that we don’t spend an unreasonable amount of time worrying about food, weight, and calories. The adoption of an active healthy lifestyle has a positive impact on our attitudes towards our bodies.
Negative body image can cause more serious disorders such as body dysmorphic disorder and muscle dysmorphia:
• Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is an over-preoccupation with an “imagined” physical defect in appearance (that is, an individual thinks there is a problem with an aspect of his or her body that others don’t see). The most common focus of preoccupation is the nose, skin, or hair, but other body parts can also be the focus. This disorder can cause stress for the individuals who have this problem, as well as for family and friends around them. In addition to spending a lot of time obsessing about a feature of their body or body parts, individuals with BDD experience anxiety and/or depression, and they may avoid social situations. People have been known to try plastic surgery to “fix” the problem but end up worse off because the underlying reason for the preoccupation is not treated.
• Muscle dysmorphia (sometimes referred to as bigorexia) is the over-preoccupation with the perception or feeling that one’s muscles are too small or too weak. In an attempt to avoid this self-perception, individuals with this disorder often spend unrealistic amounts of time working out in the gym, and yet they don’t feel “good enough.” Muscle dysmorphia occurs most often in men but has been known to occur in women as well.
With the right supports, both disorders are treatable.

What Are Some Factors That Affect Body Image?
Body image, whether negative or positive, is shaped by a variety of factors:
• Body image is influenced by standards set by society and the culture that surrounds us. As well, comments from family, friends, and others about our bodies, their bodies, and other people’s bodies, both positive and negative, affect body image.
• Self-esteem has an impact on how we view our bodies and is related to how we evaluate our own physical abilities, job skills, interpersonal abilities, family role, and body image.
• Low self-esteem may develop if “ideal” body standards are not met and may result in size misperceptions, faulty beliefs about body shape, and negative feelings about one’s own body.
• Negative body image may develop or be influenced by a history of abuse (physical or sexual), teasing by friends or family, life changes such as moving to a new school or city, and any physical changes that may be a result of puberty, medical problems, surgery, or sports injuries. Exposure to images of idealized versus normal bodies may also have a negative impact on body image.
• Experiencing problems with body image and body dissatisfaction place individuals at risk for the development of an eating disorder.
• Individuals with anorexia or bulimia nervosa often perceive themselves as being larger than they actually are, resulting in negative body image and an increase in dieting behaviour.
• An increase in dieting behaviour is associated with depression, decreased self-confidence, increased feelings of anxiety, feelings of unattractiveness, and persistent concern about weight. In other words, negative body image can be a significant mental health issue.
• People with negative body image may
o engage in excessive body checking (weighing, measuring, and trying on clothing)
o camouflage their size and shape with loose and bulky clothing
o avoid social situations that trigger physical self-consciousness
o avoid exposing their bodies (not wearing bathing suits or shorts)

How Do Eating and Body Image Go Together?
There is a relationship between eating behaviours and body image. In general, eating disorders are examples of internal conflicts about food and/or body size and shape. They are more complicated, however, than just having a big appetite and unhealthy eating patterns.
The range of feelings and behaviours associated with eating and body image can be represented along a continuum (Gannett Health Services).
• Healthy eating behaviours, at one end of the continuum, are associated with feeling confident about body shape and size.
• Disordered eating behaviours, at the other end of the scale, are associated with a preoccupation with appearance and an attempt to change body size through a focus on diets.
Eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder:
• Anorexia nervosa is characterized by fear of weight gain and severe restriction of food intake, which can result in significant weight loss.
• Bulimia nervosa involves an attempt to avoid weight gain or to manage weight through frequent compensation by purging.
• Binge eating disorder defines a pattern of binge eating (feeling out of control while eating) without purging.
Note, however, that “eating disorders often do not fall neatly into these categories and may take a variety of forms, from mild to severe. Treatment for eating disorders is important at any level of severity to reduce the risk of short-term and long-term health problems” (Gannett Health Services).

Assignment: Body Image Journal
Take a look at the three short video clips (Onslaught, Amy, and Evolution) on the following website: http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.ca/dsef07/t4.aspx?id=8408 Write a brief film review of each of the videos you watched and make a comment on the images they are portraying (are they appropriate for youth today? Are you surprised by what you saw? etc)