Body image

body; image; diet; dieting; food; eating; self; esteem; fashion; exercise; looks; weight; gym; workout; acne; obesity; fat; thin;

Contents

• What is body image?
• Body size and shape
• The fashion brigade!
• It's war!
• Diets and dieting
• Exercise
• Making friends with your body
• Resources
• References

People are bombarded with messages about how they 'should' look and what kind of person they 'should' be. Trying to meet these expectations drains our time, energy and the contents of our wallets! When we find it's impossible to look the way we're told we should look, we can find ourselves thinking "I look terrible".

This article is about freeing yourself from the tape measures, calorie counters and endless hours of weight lifting. It has tips to help you see there is way more to you than just your thighs, waist and butt!

What is body image?

Think of all the times you have said or heard things like, "I'm fat", "I'm too skinny", "My thighs are too big", "I've got a big butt", "My legs are too short", or "How embarrassing, I'm hairy."

This is how many people see themselves. Body image is the mental picture we have about the way we think we look. It's how we feel about the size, shape, weight, and look of our bodies.

Problems with body image affect men and women. Most people face it at some stage of their life.

• Men face pressure to tone-up, muscle-up and look big, strong and tanned.
  
• Women face pressure to slim-down, tone-down and look petite and small.
  

Body size and shape

You will be the right size and shape for you, if you....

• Eat healthy food, eg. lots of fruit and veggies (check out our topic Healthy eating).
• Be active - exercise three times a week for more than half an hour, eg. aerobics, kick-boxing, rock-climbing, surfing, scuba-diving, walking the dog (check out our topic Exercise).

You can still have an occasional indulgence, like chocolate cake......

Our body shape is already decided before we are born. Each one of us is a unique human being with our own genes from our mum and dad. There is only one person in the world shaped like you. Dieting does not change body shape. The distribution of weight on your body is going to stay the same - so learn to love who you are.

There are many ideas about what the words 'fat' and 'thin' mean.

• Being 'fat' (obesity) has come to be seen as more than just a physical condition. Being fat is often be linked in our minds with things like being lazy, greedy, unfeminine, having a personal problem, being unhappy or being aggressive.
• Being 'thin', on the other hand, is more likely to be viewed as normal and associated with being happy, successful, good, strong-willed, feminine or masculine, or confident.
• Being too thin is also recognised as a problem that can arise when someone does not eat enough to keep them at their ideal weight.

What names have you heard people called? What other things are told to people when they're named 'fat' or 'thin'? How might this affect how they see themselves as people?

The fashion brigade!

We live in a culture with multi-million dollar fashion and cosmetic industries that make lots of money by telling people they need to improve the way they look. We're surrounded with messages in ads, magazines, movies, bill-boards, fashion shows, hairdressing salons... all telling us that we desperately need their products!

Daytime and late night TV are good examples.

• The ads specifically target people's insecurities about the way they look, and promise quick fixes.
• By making people feel bad about the way they are, the ads aim to get people to buy products that they probably don't need.
• So that face cream didn't turn you into a movie star?
• That exercise contraption didn't give you biceps like Hercules?
• The acne cream didn't make your skin as smooth as a baby's bum?
• That diet didn't change your whole body shape?
• When these things don't work, we blame ourselves and think we're failures, we're not disciplined enough, or we are downright bad.

Most of the time it is all a lie anyway. Check out this video on youtube: Dove's Evolution. It shows just how much fashion magazines change or 'airbrush' models' photos. No wonder people feel they don't match up - not even the models do!

For more on this, check out our topic Media pressure.

It's war!

In our culture, it seems we have declared war on our bodies. We wage war on our bodies, trying to mould them in the image that we think they should fit - and if we can't win the battle, we bash ourselves up for being weak and undiscplined.

When we hit our teenage years, we start to change shape and our bodies begin to grow bits we didn't have before. Hips begin to change shape, breasts pop up, shoulders broaden, voices squeak and hair starts sprouting all over the place. It is about this time that the war with our bodies seems to be declared! We start to pluck, shave, smear ourselves in pimple cream, cleanse and tone, worry about what we eat and feel embarrassed when anyone looks at us.

Some of these words might sound familiar to you.

• Hairless - shave, wax, pluck, bleach creams, electrolysis...
• Flawless skin - anti-zit creams, face washes, cleansers, toners, moisturisers, mud masks, beautician appointments, fake tans, tanning beds....
• Hairstyles to die for - hair treatments, bleach, dye, perm, cut, hairspray….
• The so-called perfect body - dieting books, dieting programs, hours and hours of pushing bike peddles on a bike that goes no-where, the ab-toner, the flab-toner, the fab-toner, the cab-toner.... gym memberships, pumping weights, body-building, starving, diet milk-shakes, diet pills, laxatives, protein drinks, cellulite creams, nips and tucks, plastic surgery.....
• Busts and boobs - "I must, I must, I must improve my bust", bra's (push-ups, push-downs, push-lefts, push rights....), breast shaping or curving creams, bust firming gels, breast enlargements, breast reductions...
• For those curve-less thighs - thigh slimming diets, flab busters...

I think you get the picture. If we chase the look of the 'perfect body', our personal war will continue. Think about what we might be losing out on if we continue to try and reach 'perfection'. Who ultimately wins?

Diets and dieting

Warning!
Dieting is dangerous! Diets can make you feel depressed, worthless and unable to concentrate. They can also make you sick. Dieting can stress your body and in most cases make you put on the pounds!

Sometimes dieting can become so much part of people's lives that they develop an eating disorder like anorexia or bulimia nervosa. An eating disorder can lead to lots of body damage and sometimes death. If you are worried that you have (or someone you know has) an eating disorder, contact your doctor, nutritionist or community health service as soon as possible. Check out our topic Eating disorders.

Here is some interesting information about diets:

• Dieting is not effective - dieting changes a person's metabolism so that they are more likely to lose muscle mass than fat. Any weight lost may be put on again when the diet is stopped.
• Diets stress your body - diets which aim to drop the kilos quickly actually starve the body, affecting the immune system and general well-being.
• Diets can affect your emotional well-being - there is a high chance that a person will regain weight after dieting. This can lead to feelings of being a failure, self-hatred, or helplessness.
• Dieting makes you slow and less able to concentrate.

Dieting and smoking. Some people keep smoking because they are worried that if they quit, they would put on weight. However, not everyone who quits puts on weight, and any initial weight gain is usually small - about 2 kg or less. Think of  what smoking does - it gives you wrinkles around the mouth and eyes, makes your skin look grey and your teeth yellow, and your breath smells bad. Combining smoking and dieting can be quite dangerous to your health.

Eating can mean lots of different things. It is related to many things other than body shape. Think about what food means to you now. Food is used in celebration, as a treat, for fun, as a comfort, as a gift. It gives us the energy to work, learn and do all the fun things we like to do.

Exercise

Exercise, rather than limiting food intake, is the best and safest way to become healthier.

• Regular exercise such as brisk walks daily, regular physical education classes or sport can lead to improved health and weight loss without muscle loss.
• Even if no weight is lost, exercise makes a person fitter and healthier, and feel better.

Check out our topic Exercise.

Making friends with your body

You and your body can be mates! If you want to make peace, it might be helpful to remember:

• your body shape is your own and is unique
• your body shape is based on your family's shape, determined by your genes
• companies want you to part with your money by making you feel that your body isn't good enough
• your body is your home, and needs to be looked after
• feeling good about your body as it is, helps you to maintain a positive outlook in other areas of your life.

Many people like to take up an interest where they use their body. This is a way to notice how much your body helps you enjoy life. Some things people have done are belly-dancing, rock-climbing, aerobics and swimming. Try something new! It will raise your self-esteem and make you feel good about who you are. This is your life, not your waist's, pec's or butt's!

Resources

South Australia

• The Second Story Youth Health Service (TSS)
  - Central: 57 Hyde St, Adelaide
  - South: 50a Beach Rd, Christies Beach
  - North: 6 Gillingham Rd, Elizabeth
  - West: 51 Bower St, Woodville
  Contact TSS via the Youth Healthline on 1300 13 17 19,
  or for mobile phone callers (08) 8303 1691 - normal rates apply.
• The Inside Out Project
  Information, education and support for same sex attracted young men under 26 years.
  http://www.insideout.cyh.com
  
• Eating Disorders Association of SA Inc. (EDASA).
  8332 3466.
  www.edasa.org.au
• Anti-Cancer Foundation SA QUIT SA
  QUITLINE 131 848
• Your local Community Health Centre
• Your Doctor
• Your local Nutritionist
• Cooke, K. Online Completely Gorgeous:
  http://www.completelygorgeous.com.au/
• Check out the OxyGen web-site
  www.oxygen.org.au

General

• Body Image: a weight off my mind. A great booklet with activities and places to write your thoughts. Helpful information for everyone, but designed for young woman.
  A Weight off My Mind (1Mb)

References

Bovey, S. 'The Forbidden Body: Why Being Fat is Not a Sin', Pandora (1994)

Erdman, C. 'Nothing to Lose - A Guide to Sane Living in a Larger Body' (1995)

Kano, S. 'Making Peace with Food', Harper & Row (1989)

Newman, L. 'Some Body to Love - A Guide to Loving the Body You Have', Third Side (1991).

Ominchinski, L. 'You Count, Calories Don't', Tamos Books (1992).

Pallotta-Chiarolli, M. 'Girls Talk: young women speak their hearts and minds', Finch Publishing. (1998)

Renee Boynton-Jarrett, Tracy N Thomas, Karen E Peterson, Jean Wiecha, et al. Impact of Television Viewing Patterns on Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Among Adolescents. Pediatrics. Evanston: Dec 2003, 112( 6); p. 1321

Robinson, S. 'Mary Jane: Living Through Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa', Candon House (1996)

Roth, G. 'Why Weight? A Guide to Ending Compulsive Eating', Plume (1989)

Stanton, R. 'The Diet Dilemma', Allen and Unwin (1991)

Report of The American Psychological Association Task Force on the Sexualisation of Girls. 2007, online (cited 5/3/07): http://www.apa.org/pi/wpo/sexualizationrep.pdf

The information on this site should not be used as an alternative to professional care. If you have a particular problem, see a doctor, or ring the Youth Healthline on 1300 13 17 19 (local call cost from anywhere in South Australia).