PREVENTION OF EATING DISORDERS:
Positive Body Image
Learn to Love the Skin You’re In
2013
HHP 480-MONTANA HAYES
What is Body Image?
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How you see or picture yourself.
How you feel others perceive
you.
What you believe about your
physical appearance.
How you feel about your body.
How you feel in your body.
Guess What?!
We all feel silly in our bodies sometimes!
I don’t feel pretty.
I’m too tall! I’m taller than
every boy!
I’m chubby…
My body doesn’t do what I want it to!
Cankles…ugh
Why can’t I just look like my friends?
If I were just a little bit more
muscular…
My ears and nose are way too big
My teeth are weird
and my hair is
always a disaster.
Let’s overpower these thoughts
and recognize the respect our
bodies deserve!
It’s easy for anyone to fall into the trap of
the mind, especially girls your age, but stay
strong.
Tall Body,
SHORT BODY,
Everybody is Somebody.
“You are the children of the
Lord your God.” –Deuteronomy
14:1
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit,
who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your
own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your
bodies.” -1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Keep these truths in mind as you read the following.
You are beautiful because you are a child of God. You honor him when
you love and care for your body. He doesn’t care if you are thin or tall or
have perfect hair.
The following are some practical suggestions from an article on pbs.org
titled
Perfect Illusions: Eating Disorders and the Family
1. Appreciate all that your body can do. Every day your body carries you closer to
your dreams. Celebrate all of the things your body does for you: running, dancing,
breathing, climbing, laughing, dreaming, etc.
2. Keep a top-ten list of things you like about yourself that aren't related to how
much you weigh or what you look like. Read your list often. Add to it as you
become aware of more things to like about yourself.
3. Remind yourself that true beauty is not simply skin-deep. When you feel good
about yourself and who you are, you carry yourself with a sense of confidence,
self-acceptance and openness that makes you beautiful regardless of whether or not
you physically look like a supermodel. Beauty is a state of mind, not a state of your
body.
4. Look at yourself as a whole person. When you see yourself in a mirror or in your
mind, choose not to focus on specific body parts. See yourself as you want others
to see you: as a whole person.
5. Surround yourself with positive people. It is easier to feel good about yourself
and your body when you are around others who are supportive and who recognize
the importance of liking yourself just as you naturally are.
6. Shut down those voices in your head that tell you your body is not "right" or that
you are a "bad" person. You can overpower those negative thoughts with positive
ones. The next time you start to tear yourself down, build yourself back up with a
few declarations that work for you.
7. Wear clothes that are comfortable and that make you feel good about your body.
Work with your body, not against it.
8. Become a critical viewer of social and media messages. Pay attention to images,
slogans or attitudes that make you feel bad about yourself or your body. Protest
these messages: write a letter to the ad agency.
9. Use the time and energy you might have spent worrying about food, calories and
your weight to do something that is important to you.
10. Create a list of people you admire: people who have contributed to your life,
your community, or the world. Consider whether their appearance was important to
their success and accomplishments and their being.
11. Consider this: your skin replaces itself once a month, your stomach lining
every five days, your liver every six weeks, and your skeleton every three months.
It's pretty amazing.
12. Think back to a time in your life when you felt good about your body. Tell
yourself you can feel like that again, even in this body at this age.
13. Start saying to yourself, "Life is too short to waste my time hating my body this
way."
14. Eat when you are hungry. Rest when you are tired. Surround yourself with
people who remind you of your inner strength and beauty.
15. Every day, ask: "Am I benefiting from focusing on what I believe are the flaws
in my appearance, body weight or shape?"
16. Think of three reasons why it is ridiculous to believe that thinner people are
happier or better. Repeat these reasons whenever you feel the urge to compare your
body shape to someone else's.
17. Spend less and less time in front of mirrors, especially when they are making
you feel uncomfortable and self-conscious about your body.
18. Exercise for the joy of feeling your body move and grow stronger. Don't
exercise simply to lose weight, purge fat body, or to "make-up for" calories eaten.
19. Participate in activities you enjoy, even if they call attention to your weight and
shape. Constantly remind yourself that you deserve to do things you enjoy, like
dancing, swimming, etc., no matter what your shape or size.
By keeping and working towards a POSITIVE body
image, you are preventing eating disorders and
keeping your mind healthier and happier.
Some of these disorders include…
Anorexia Nervosa
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life-threatening eating disorder of self-starvation and excessive weight loss
may deny the seriousness of their low body weight
intense fear of weight gain and being “fat” even when underweight
90-95% of sufferers are women
One of the highest death rates of any mental health issue
.5-1% of American women have anorexia
Warning Signs
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withdrawal from friends
denial of hunger
rigid exercise routine focused on burning off calories taken in
make excuses to avoid situations involving food
control of food is becoming main focus
body grows thin layer of hair in effort to keep body warm
Health Consequences
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body slows down because it has no fuel
muscle loss
brittle bones
dry hair and skin, hair loss
slow heart rate and low blood pressure-risk for heart failure rises
Bulimia Nervosa
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binge eating with compensatory behaviors like vomiting, excessive, compulsive exercise,
using laxatives, or fasting
extreme focus on weight and food
intake of large amounts of food followed by a feeling of loss of control
1-2% of young women affected
associated with depression and social changes
typically appear to have usual body weight
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Warning Signs
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evidence of food binging and purging
unusual swelling of cheeks or jaw
sores or calluses on hands and knuckles from inducing vomiting
exercising despite injury or illness and getting overuse injuries
discoloration and staining of teeth
schedule changes for binging and purging cycles
Health Consequences
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damages digestive system
dehydration can cause electrolyte imbalance leading to irregular heartbeats
effects all main organ systems
inflammation and rupture of the esophagus from frequent vomiting
tooth decay
There are other eating and exercise disorders outside of the listed. If you find your
life being controlled by food, exercise, or image, SEEK HELP!
It can be very difficult to reach out, but it may save your life.
PARENTS:
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set an example for your children by modeling healthy behaviors
appreciate your own bodies
do not overemphasize a certain body type as the “right” one
If you notice any of the above behaviors, reach out to your child. It may be
difficult, but it is worth it.
 Seek help from others
 Eating disorders are serious mental conditions
 Those with mental disorders can’t “just stop.”
 The mind is a powerful instrument, and it may continually tell your child
that he/she is not good enough no matter how much you or anyone else tells
them differently.
 Make sure your child feels accepted and nurtured as a person at home, so
that she can carry this into her relationships with others.
 LISTEN to your child with your full attention. Let them know they are
important. Continue to ask questions about any topic.
If you realize that you need help, ASK!
Eating disorders can hurt physically as well as emotionally.
Early intervention can save lives.
If left untreated, they may become chronic and threaten life.
Professional help is suggested because they are a serious health condition.
There are many treatment options. Treatment does not mean one is weak.
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Psychotherapy
Psychological counseling
Medical treatment
Nutrition counseling
Your health professional will help individualize your recovery. Find someone you
can trust.
Parents: Advocate for insurance to cover the needs of your child. For suggestions
visit, http://www.pbs.org/perfectillusions/help/seeking_insurance.html
If a friend is in need of help…
 Set a time to talk
 Communicate your concerns
 Ask your friend to talk to a
professional
o Go along if you are comfortable
 Avoid conflict or place guilt and
1-800-931-2237
This number is a confidential help-line.
Call if in need of any help.
It is open from 9am-9pm Monday-Thursday and 9am-5pm Friday. (EST)
Some books suggested by people who have struggled with their own disorders
include:
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The Body Betrayed: A Deeper Understanding of Women, Eating Disorders, and
Treatment, by Kathryn J. Zerbe
 The Body Project, by Joan Jacobs Brumberg
 Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body, by Suzan Bordo
 Appetites, by Carolyn Knapp
Marya, a woman who recovered from an eating disorder recalls…
...I had been hating my body, hating my body and hating my body-for years. And
since I was four or five, was the first time I remember deciding that I was fat.
The first time I ever threw up, I had been hating my body, hating my body and
hating my body-for years... I stopped watching TV, put down my bag of Fritos and
just sort of, in this drugged stupor, walked downstairs and pulled back my braids
and threw up.
You start setting goals for yourself, "I want to get down to 100, I want to get down
to 90, I want to get down to 80, and it just gets lower and lower and lower. I
remember looking at the scale, and it said 63 and I went, 50!"
I made a decision that very few people make in this culture, which was to actually
figure out what was wrong and fix it. I really had to go through a lot of hell to get
better.
The function of an eating disorder for a lot of people and for a certain extent of
time, is to become numb. When you reach a certain nadir of numbness, it's called
despair. It just feels horrific and then you have to climb your way back up and that
whole process of climbing, that is a lifetime. That isn't just recovering from an
eating disorder, that's learning how to be a grown up. It's learning how to live in
the body you have and in the life that you have.
“It’s learning how to live in the body you
have and in the life that you have.”
Sources
Perfect Illusions: Eating Disorders and the Family
http://www.pbs.org/perfectillusions/eatingdisorders/preventing_healthybody.html
Anoresia-Nervosa
http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/anorexia-nervosa
Bulimia-Nervosa
http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/bulimia-nervosa
How to Talk to Daughters About Body Image
http://www.faithgateway.com/how-to-talk-to-daughters-about-body-image/#.UqTGOPRDuSo