Bridgette Sloan
Extension Associate, Consumer and Textile Sciences
Personal appearance is very important to most of us. It may influence how we feel about ourselves, how we interact with others, how we tend to our appearance on a daily basis, and what behaviors we practice in order to maintain our image. Our sense of self comes from a combination of how we feel about basic looks and how we react emotionally in certain situations. In other words, there is more to body image than just what we see in the mirror.
The current emphasis in nutrition education is helping people achieve a healthy body weight for their body type. However, many people already at a healthy weight are trying to diet to a weight or size that they are not programmed for in their genes.
Helping people achieve a positive body image may be a more important long-term strategy for gaining and keeping improved health than helping them lose weight.
Body image can be defined as how we perceive our physical appearance, as well as how we think others perceive us. How we perceive and relate to our own physical aesthetics or body image is influenced by cultural and social factors. These are what others say about us, the environment in which we grew up, and the timing of certain events in our lives. In addition, cultural ideas of what is desirable and attractive have important implications in the development of our body image.
Body image is constantly changing. This is influenced by the degree to which the real body conforms to the prevailing norm. Dominant standards of beauty for women have changed over time. Throughout history, emphasis has focused on different parts of the body with an increased emphasis on thinness in the late 20th century. Ideal beauty standards for women today are often influenced by current fashion and mass media.
Presently, in American culture, where thinness is associated and equated with attractiveness, the ideal beauty standard for women is the slim, toned body. For men and boys, the ideal is a strong, muscular body.
The way a person views his or her body directly affects self-esteem. Self-esteem is defined as an individual’s perceived feelings of value and self-worth. A person with high self-esteem is more self-accepting, possesses high self-worth, and has a positive self-image, while a person with low self-esteem is often self-critical, has low self-worth, and has a negative self-image.
The way we feel about ourselves affects the way we view ourselves. Because body image is important to our self-concept, when distortions occur, they can have pronounced effects. These effects range from improving our sense of well-being (like positive affirmations) to developing a predisposition to an emotional disorder.
Body image distortion is when we perceive ourselves as being heavier (or smaller) than we actually are. Body image distortion occurs more frequently for women than for men. When compared to men, women perceive themselves as heavier than others view them. Men are usually more accurate in measuring their own body shape.
Research suggests that the distortion that women have over the difference between how they currently look and how they think they should look (perceived ideal beauty) is the cause of various disorders and appearance-related practices.
Eating disorders–anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder–are psychiatric illnesses and clinical disorders that affect over five million American women and men. This figure may not seem terribly high until we realize that thousands of these people will die from the physical problems caused by these conditions. In fact, it is well known that most sufferers never seek treatment.
Dieting and eating disorders can be placed on a continuum from clinically severe to milder subclinical forms. Eating disorders are not just the extremes of anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder. Dangerous fad diets are widespread in the United States. In a society where thinness is equated with success and happiness, nearly every American woman, man, and child has suffered at one time or another from dieting issues of weight, body shape, and self-image.
Disordered eating refers to troublesome eating behaviors that include skipping meals, crash dieting, fasting for short or long periods of time, bingeing, and purging. The physical, mental, and psychological effects of disordered eating vary depending upon the duration and severity of the negative eating pattern. It can mean not eating enough and it can also mean eating too much, ignoring natural feelings of fullness.
Anorexia nervosa is a disorder in which preoccupation with dieting and thinness leads to excessive weight loss. Anorexics have an intense fear of fat, and their preoccupation with food and weight often hides other underlying psychological problems. They may not admit that their weight loss or restrictive eating is a problem.
Anorexia nervosa is rare. It appears almost exclusively in adolescent girls. While many teenagers go through a phase of excess dieting, only a few actually develop anorexia nervosa. Of those who do, up to 15% die from complications of the condition, with boys being one tenth of the sufferers.
One percent of teenage girls in the United States develop anorexia nervosa. Anorexic girls tend to come from families that often talk about the "right" amounts or kinds of things to eat. These girls may use their refusal to eat as a way to manipulate their parents.
Anorexic youth frequently practice gorging followed by vomiting (spontaneous or self-induced) and inappropriate use of laxatives or diuretics. There are greater risks for those who are Caucasian, have an upper or middle economic background, are female, and have a goal-oriented family or personality type. However, while the prevalence of disorders is much lower, increasing cases are being seen in males and minorities.
Danger signs of anorexia include: loss of a significant amount of weight; continuing to diet although thin; feeling fat even after losing weight; intense fear of weight gain; loss of monthly menstrual periods; preoccupation with food; preferring to diet in isolation; cooking for others; hair loss; cold hands and feet; fainting spells; exercising compulsively; lying about food; depression; anxiety; weakness; exhaustion; periods of hyperactivity; constipation; heart tremors; dry, brittle skin; and shortness of breath.
Bulimia nervosa is described as a disorder in which frequent episodes of binge eating (rapid consumption of food in one sitting) are almost always followed by purging (ridding the body of food). Purging can involve vomiting, abusing laxatives and/or diuretics, exercising compulsively, and/or fasting. Bingeing and purging are often followed by intense feelings of guilt and shame.
Bulimics may look underweight and may even be slightly overweight. Like anorexics, bulimics use self-destructive eating behaviors to deal with psychological problems that may go much deeper than their obsession with food and weight. Usually, bulimics feel out of control and recognize that their behavior is not normal. Up to 20% of college women in the United States are bulimic.
Danger signs of bulimia include: bingeing, or eating uncontrollably; purging by strict dieting; fasting; vigorous exercise; vomiting or abusing laxatives or diuretics in an attempt to lose weight; using the bathroom frequently after meals; preoccupation with body weight; depression; mood swings; feeling out of control; swollen glands in neck and face; heartburn; bloating; irregular periods; dental problems; constipation; indigestion; sore throat; vomiting blood; weakness; exhaustion; and bloodshot eyes.
Binge eating disorder, or compulsive overeating, involves uncontrolled eating usually kept secret. People with this condition engage in frequent binges, but unlike bulimics, they do not purge afterward. Binges are usually followed by intense feelings of guilt and shame. Again, food is used as a dysfunctional means of coping with psychological problems. The individual often experiences depression and other psychological problems. Up to 40% of people who are obese may be binge eaters.
Danger signs of binge eating include: episodes of binge eating, eating when not physically hungry, frequent dieting, feeling unable to stop eating voluntarily, awareness that eating patterns are abnormal, weight fluctuations, depressed mood, feeling ashamed, antisocial behavior, and obesity.
Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa have been shown to be the result of body image distortions among females. In fact, studies reveal that as the media images of women decrease in size, concern about being overweight and symptoms of eating disorders increase in frequency.
Perhaps the greatest effect of eating disorders can be seen among adolescent girls. For the developing girl during puberty, the percentage of fat increases almost 100% until it reaches 25-30% of body weight. Because adolescent girls may value smallness, normal fat deposits that accumulate on hips, stomach, and legs may be seen as negative. "Overweight" girls blame overeating for fat on their bodies, and may use dieting to control their weight. Because increase in body fat is inevitable, girls and boys may turn to weight control to gain a sense of mastery over their bodies.
Boys are less likely than girls to consider themselves overweight or in need of dieting. While girls often feel fat before beginning to diet, boys are more likely to be overweight when they begin to diet. Males tend to diet as a means to an end (to avoid being teased or to improve athletic performance).
If you suspect someone has an eating disorder, or suspect any of these symptoms, get help from a medical doctor or therapist, or contact the National Eating Disorders Organization at (918) 481-4044, as these disorders can be deadly.
Existing stereotypes of body ideals for women are more distorted than the stereotypes of body image that are held about men. Many research studies report that women and girls participate in more appearance-related activities than men, but men resort to weight training and steroids more than women. However, women and girls diet, weigh themselves, count calories, are more concerned about being overweight, and experience more guilt and anxiety than men and boys.
It was not until the 1940s that the cultural ideal figure for women became significantly thinner as compared to their actual female figure. This difference between the current and ideal figure places a demand on women to diet. This vicious cycle to conform to beauty standards has been linked to many types of eating disorders.
Of all the qualities of appearance and attractiveness, body shape and weight are the aspects that women, men, and children are most dissatisfied with. A study of grade school children revealed that 80% of girls as young as the fourth grade reported being on a diet.
Children who were six or seven years old reported a preference for a muscular body type and showed a dislike for pictures of overweight children. Another study revealed that obese (defined as being 30% over ideal weight) children were judged by other children as being less physically appealing than children with physical disabilities.
Body image is greatly affected by the mass media’s portrayal of the thin ideal body type. The media’s use of adolescent girls portrays two images that are both extreme. They are usually shown as free-spirited extroverts or as introverts, undergoing a second infancy, often with soft skin, pink cheeks, and a wide-eyed unfocused gaze.
Today the goal to be thin is displayed in media images on television, magazines, and billboards. More ads in women’s magazines than in men’s magazines deal with diet and other figure enhancing products. These advertisements show the ideal female body, and many females then compare their own body type with this ideal and may use dieting as a means to measure up. In fact, a study of mass media magazines discovered that women’s magazines had 10.5 times more ads and articles promoting weight loss than men’s magazines did.
Because the female teen is a consumer, she represents big business for beauty products. Ads appearing in popular teen magazines promise to transform a girl’s appearance. While these ads are designed to encourage a girl to use make-up and dieting to look acceptable, they can undermine her self-confidence and contribute to negative body image.
Girls are usually more concerned with appearance than boys because they have been socialized to overemphasize appearance. Girls have a harder time developing a positive body image than boys. A negative perception of body image results mainly from social conditioning. When women cannot attain the cultural ideal beauty standard, negative self-image may occur since self-esteem in women is positively related to attractiveness.
Through socialization processes, children learn that the male body should be developed, strong, functional, and competent while the female body should be preserved, protected, and made more beautiful. This is also reinforced through toys (such as Barbie dolls and Power Rangers), billboards, and TV models of beautiful women and muscular male figures.
Adolescence represents a time when the body changes rapidly. It reflects the highest degree of anxiety and the greatest dissatisfaction with body image.
The increase in eating disorders is linked to western values of thinness in the female body shape. Dieting has become a 50 billion dollar industry paralleling a dramatic increase of media images and advertising on diets and the thin ideal.
In fact, thinness has come to symbolize certain cherished notions within the culture, such as self-discipline, control, sexual liberation, assertiveness and competitiveness, as well as affiliation with higher socioeconomic classes.
Studies show that dieting has become a cultural preoccupation for women, usually peaking around puberty. Research suggests that bulimia is greater among women than what has been reported. Perhaps victims believe these practices are more successful in controlling weight than dieting. Because of the thin ideal of beauty, eating disorders may be regarded as a normal, culturally acceptable manner of behavior.
Anyone can develop an eating disorder. However, some people have a higher risk than others. People who hold jobs or who participate in activities where there is a focus on appearance are at risk. This includes models and ballet students where the demand for thinness is required. Fashion students may also be predisposed to body image disorders due to their awareness of fashionable appearances.
Athletes who participate in running, cycling, wrestling, gymnastics, and swimming are thought to be at risk for developing an eating disorder. This is because these are sports where more of the body is exposed. Cheerleaders have also been found to be more preoccupied with body size due to pressures to maintain attractiveness for public performance.
Other categories include people who are depressed, people who have a relative with an eating disorder, people from dysfunctional families, survivors of sexual abuse, children of alcoholic parents, women, and high-achievers.
Parents, especially mothers, who diet and constantly talk about being on a diet in front of their children, put them at risk for developing an eating disorder. As for fathers, a study revealed that distant dads who avoid closeness and at the same time are critical of their daughter’s weight may create a home atmosphere that leads to eating disorders.
People learn and internalize cultural standards through socialization. They do not consider the fact that their inherited genes play a role in their physical appearance. This implies that poor body image is a product of social conditioning, which sets up standards that are unattainable and unhealthy.
These "traits" that we learn are rooted in narrow prejudices and explain, for example, how Caucasian beauty may influence other cultures like African American or Asian American ideal beauty standards. Once a beauty standard is sanctioned by enough people, it redefines normal appearance.
The primary approach to preventing disorders and unhealthy body image from developing is teaching children on the brink of adolescence to accept their bodies. One must think in terms of prevention. "Inoculate" girls, especially, before negative body image sets in. Avoid focusing on eating disorders. This may actually encourage eating disorders by telling youth how to do it. Teens may still have difficulty with a negative body image, but they should not consider food or lack of food as a solution.
Although obesity does not always lead to low self-esteem in children, parents, teachers, and friends should watch out for kids who, no matter what their weight, worry about their weight at an early age. If well intentioned parents focus on their child’s weight too much, the child may feel inadequate, develop lower self-esteem, and become preoccupied with his or her weight as a way to improve himself or herself in the eyes of others. A constant concern about weight and appearance is often a precursor to life threatening eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia.
Parents wanting healthy and happy children should consider the following:
If you suspect a child or adolescent has eating disorders and body image issues, you can get help by contacting the Eating Disorders Awareness Prevention (EDAP) toll-free information and referral hotline at 1-800-931-2237. This is the largest non-profit organization devoted to the awareness and prevention of eating disorders. For more information, visit their web site at: http://www.edap.org/.
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