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This is a credible source because it talks about all the different body images and gives you all the names of different eating disorders. It also talks about how bullying is a big factor of eating disorders and body image. For example, people make fun of others bodies because they think their overweight. This also talks about how some boys have muscle dysmorphia. Which can cause their muscles to hurt.

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Body image distress is often seen as a symptom of an eating disorder. However, not every person with an eating disorder has a problematic body image, and many people who do not have eating disorders have poor body image.

So how can we understand the relationship between body image and eating disorders? This article discusses how body image and eating disorders are connected and some treatments that can help.

What Is Body Image?

Body image is the subjective image people have of their own body, which is distinct from how their body actually appears.

Body image is a complex construct and is made up of beliefs, thoughts, perceptions, feelings, and behaviors. The way we see ourselves and our bodies have an impact on our health, our mental health, and our relationships.

A healthy body image involves an objective perception of one's appearance and the ability to separate one's value as a person from how one looks.

Negative Body Image

Negative body image is often characterized by dissatisfaction with appearance and engaging in behaviors such as dieting, checking, and/or avoidance, in an attempt to ameliorate the dissatisfaction. Negative body image often emerges during childhood.

The term "normative discontent" was first used by Rodin and colleagues in 1984 to describe dissatisfaction with body size and shape. It was found to be so widespread among women that it was determined to be "normative" or normal.

A recent large scale study of 18- to 79-year-old Icelanders showed that nearly 43% were dissatisfied with their body weight, and over 71% thought they needed to lose weight.

Even though the average BMI was higher among males, more females than males were dissatisfied with their body weight in every age group.

Body Image Issues in Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are complex mental illnesses caused by genetic as well as environmental factors - negative body image is just one potential contributor. However, negative body image is prominent in eating disorders because many people with eating disorders place a high value on their body shape and weight when determining their own self-worth.

Anorexia: A diagnosis of anorexia nervosa is additionally consistent with a disturbance in how one's body weight or shape is experienced or an inability to recognize the seriousness of the current low body weight.

Binge eating disorder: Over-evaluation of shape and weight is not required for binge eating disorder (BED), the most common eating disorder. Research indicates that only about 60% of BED patients met the criteria for over-evaluation of shape and weight. However, it appears that patients with BED who experience a preoccupation with shape and weight may have a more severe form of BED.

Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder: People with the eating disorder avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) do not typically experience any preoccupation with shape and weight.

Negative Body Image and Other Disorders

Body dissatisfaction may lead to dieting and disordered eating, which can be gateway behaviors to an eating disorder.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is another psychiatric disorder, classified as a type of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. People with BDD are preoccupied with one or more nonexistent or slight defects or flaws in their physical appearance, including body shape.

To be diagnosed with BDD a person must:

Engage in repetitive behaviors (such as checking or reassurance-seeking) related to the preoccupation

Experience impairment in functioning

However, if the individual's body image concerns only occur within the context of an eating disorder, only the eating disorder is diagnosed.

Muscle Dysmorphia

Body weight and size dissatisfaction have long been recognized as an issue among women, but it has recently been identified as an increasing problem among men. One type of body dysmorphic disorder, muscle dysmorphia, affects primarily men and boys who desire to be more muscular.

Because many people with muscle dysmorphia engage in exercise and changes in eating designed to influence body weight and shape, several researchers believe that muscle dysmorphia is actually a version of anorexia nervosa more closely aligned with traditional male gender norms.

Treatment for Negative Body Image

Body image is often one of the last symptoms of an eating disorder to improve during treatment. Even accounting for different treatments and symptoms, the stages of recovery from an eating disorder follow a fairly similar pattern.

Almost universally, weight recovery and behavioral changes appear to precede psychological recovery. And some degree of body image distress and preoccupation may persist after recovery from an eating disorder since it is not typical for people in our society to be entirely free of body image concerns.

In many cases, treatments incorporate more than one category of intervention. For example, cognitive-behavioral treatments and media literacy programs often include psychoeducation.

Cognitive-Behavioral Interventions

Cognitive-behavioral interventions are those most frequently utilized to address body image. These interventions help individuals modify dysfunctional thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that contribute to negative body image.

The techniques used include:

Fitness Training

Fitness training interventions include exercises geared at improving physical capabilities such as muscle strength. Objective improvements in physical fitness are not as important as perceived improvements.

Fitness training can also improve body image by encouraging individuals to focus more on the functionality of their bodies and less on their appearance.

Media Literacy Interventions

Media literacy interventions teach individuals to critically evaluate and challenge the media images and messages that can contribute to negative body image. For example, images of very thin models and messages such as "Thin is beautiful" can be challenged.

Self-Esteem Interventions

Self-esteem strategies used in the treatment of negative body image focus on identifying and appreciating individual differences both in regards to body image and internal qualities and talents. Strategies also focus on building healthy coping skills.﻿﻿

Psychoeducation

Psychoeducational strategies teach individuals about issues related to negative body image including its causes and consequences.﻿﻿ Psychoeducational strategies are often used in combination with one of the other types of interventions.

Gratitude-Based Interventions

A newer line of body image interventions includes gratitude-based strategies such as gratitude journals, lists, reflections, and meditations. Such interventions seek to increase appreciation for non-appearance-based aspects of oneself.

Strategies to Try at Home

Here are some self-help strategies based on some of the interventions above that you can do on your own to improve body image:

Keep a Body Gratitude Journal

A daily routine that includes self-deprecating comments about your body is likely making you feel worse. In order to come to a more balanced perspective, it is important to start to shift your attention and appreciate good things about your body.

One way to achieve this is to keep a body gratitude journal. Try to write something daily that is positive about your body.

Examples of Body Gratitude

Clean Your Social Media Feed

People often face a daily barrage of images and messages emphasizing thinness and/or the attainment of an ideal physique. To counteract these messages, it is essential to find messages that support body acceptance and the inclusion of a range of bodies.

Instead, read body-positive blogs and follow body-positive role models. Some excellent posts are Body Image Booster: 5 Ways To Strengthen Your Self-Respect by Margarita Tartakovsky and What the Dying Regret by Kerry Egan.

Buy Clothes That Fit Now

Many people resist buying clothes that fit and either wear shapeless clothes or dangle themselves the reward of shopping or fitting into old clothes "when they lose the weight." This misguided exercise increases misery in the present and does nothing to increase motivation.

Instead, buy at least a few essential items that fit now and make you feel good. Most people find that this makes them feel more confident and reduces anxiety and self-disparagement when getting dressed.

Challenge Avoidance and Stop Body Checking

Avoidance and body checking have been implicated in the persistence of eating disorders. Avoidance can involve the complete covering up, refusing to wear appropriate clothes for the situation (wearing a hoody in the summer, refusing to wear shorts or a sleeveless top on a summer day, refusal to swim because of anxiety over wearing a swimsuit) or complete avoidance of doctors who might weigh them.

Body checking is the repeated checking of one's shape and weight and takes various forms, from repeated weighing, measuring (with a tape measure or by touch), or obsessive checking in the mirror.

If checking is an issue, try keeping track of the number of times you check and then try to cut that back gradually. Exposure can also be gradual. For example, wear sleeveless shirts around the apartment for increasing periods before eventually venturing outside wearing them.

Act Out Against the Thin Ideal

Some of the most effective eating disorder prevention programs, such as The Body Project, are based on the principle of cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is the idea that when attitudes and behaviors conflict, a person experiences discomfort and tries to align attitudes with behaviors.

People are encouraged to engage in activities that actively resist cultural pressures toward the thin ideal. Such activities include writing a peer or young girl a letter encouraging her to embrace a more diverse range of beauty or writing a company that has engaged in fat-shaming or thin-centric behaviors a letter explaining why that bothers you.

Change Negative Body Language

Engaging in typical "fat talk" - negative and judgmental comments or conversations focused on weight and appearance - is detrimental to body image. Avoiding such judgments (e.g., "I'm so fat!") can improve body image. Consider taking a pledge not to engage in fat talk.

A Word From Verywell

There are numerous movements suggesting people should aim to love their bodies. This may not be possible. A more reasonable goal for some might be to work toward appreciating and accepting their bodies.

Body image will not likely improve without effort, and the above activities must be performed over time. Improving body image is an appropriate goal for therapy, whether or not an individual is experiencing disordered eating.

If employing these strategies independently is not helping over time and body image is having a negative effect on overall well-being or daily functioning, don't hesitate to seek help from a professional.

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Body image distress is conflated with eating disorders. However, you might have either one without the other. Learn more about the relationship.

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This is a credible source because it gives you tips on how to love and appreciate your body. It also gives you the negative sides. For example, it talks about dysmorphic disorder. That is when people think they look ugly even if they have a small flaw or none at all. But it also gives you good advice to get your mind off of your body. For example, find great friends, mind your media, etc.

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Having body image issues | girlshealth.gov

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Body image is how you feel about your body. Lots of girls have body image issues. We can help you love the great things about your body - and your whole self!

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This is a credible source because it talks about young women and how they are losing self-esteem and performing eating disorders. It also talks about how boys are found to be using anabolic steroids in an attempt to gain muscle mass. It says also that girls aren't the only one's suffering from negative body image, boys and men are too. Even markets are selling "low fat" and "fat free" products that will make people who want to lose weight buy them. Social media is a big problem also.

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What is body image?

Body image refers to a person's personal view of their body shape, size, weight, and appearance. It also consists of how greatly one values a desired body weight, size or shape, preoccupation, level of satisfaction, and fear of weight gain. Body image is also influenced by personal body size and shape history, as well as cultural and societal norms and expectations. This image of oneself may or may not reflect how others view them or be an objective view of their body. It is important to note that most people experience some degree of body dissatisfaction or distress either at some point in their lives during a period of body change; For example, during adolescence, pregnancy or illness. Many experience body image dissatisfaction to some extent throughout their lives.

Causes of Body Image Dissatisfaction

Poor body image can begin to develop at a very young age. With estimates ranging from 20-70% of children under the age of 6 expressing body dissatisfaction. It is more commonly thought that negative body image affects only girls and women, but this is not the case. Men and boys suffer negative body image and related poor self-esteem too, but they may be less likely to admit to being affected because it is less socially acceptable. Body dissatisfaction in boys and men can often be focused on a desire to be bigger or have more muscle mass, rather than thinness per se.

There are many factors that may contribute to negative body image. Within American culture, thinness and beauty are highly valued, and wealth and success are often considered to go hand in hand with being thin. The media has historically glamorized thinness. This is witnessed in television, movies, news, and professional sports. Media, and social media, specifically, serve to fuel body image concerns in children, teenagers, and adults. Influencers and social media presences demonstrate what it looks like to be beautiful, thin, successful, and popular. Their body weight, appearance and beauty are often associated with their social standing, wealth, and success. This is despite the fact that social media accounts are highly curated, often unrealistically altered snapshots of an individual's appearance and lived experience. Thin-ideal media highlights the idea that thinness is a good and desirable thing to be, even if it is to a level that is potentially damaging to a persons health.

Participation in certain aesthetic sports or activities can also fuel body image concerns and efforts to alter one's body shape and size. Sports such as gymnastics, dance, distance running, and swimming may place participants at risk for body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. These risks can be elevated in elite-level athletics.

Body image and eating disorders

The development of an eating disorder is the result of a complex interaction of biological, psychological, social and environmental factors. Negative body image alone is not necessarily enough to trigger an eating disorder. However, poor body image may result in dieting or restrictive eating patterns in order to lose weight, which can develop into an eating disorder. This is especially true for those with a genetic predisposition toward developing eating disorders.

One component of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa specifically is an over-valuation of shape and weight, meaning that body size and shape are given a high value in the person's overall self-concept. Those with anorexia nervosa often struggle to accurately perceive or describe their body size and shape, even if they become dangerously underweight. Furthermore, body image concerns typically do not improve over the course of the illness or as an individual loses weight. Though this is not described as part of the diagnostic criteria, people with binge eating disorder (BED) can experience over-evaluation of shape and weight, and it can be a strong indicator of severity of eating disorder symptoms in these individuals.

The Effects of Poor Body Image

The effects of a poor body image of women can be profound. For someone genetically predisposed to an eating disorder, dieting caused by a negative body image could trigger one. However for the majority of the population, what happens is a preoccupation with food and diet, weight cycling, low self-esteem, low self-confidence and never feeling that one's body is adequate. In addition to leading to the development of eating disorders, a poor body image can contribute to depression, anxiety, problems in relationships, the development of substance abuse problems, and consequently various health problems.

Poor self-esteem often contributes to problems in relationships, the workplace, and any area in life that requires confidence.

Addressing and treating Negative Body Image

Changing the way the media portrays women is a long-term goal for many advocacy groups. There are currently national and international efforts to make marketers take responsibility for displaying pictures of men and women that are unrealistic. The #truthinads campaign is an example of this and some beauty brands and clothing producers have reacted to public pressure by promising never to use photoshopped models in their catalogs and to expand sizes.

On the individual level, there are some things you can practice to improve self-esteem. Focusing on your accomplishments and good qualities and important aspects of your self-concept, repeating gratitude and loving kindness affirmations, and engaging in activities that result in a feeling of pleasure and mastery can all help to shore up self-esteem. Regularly engaging in enjoyable and moderate movement or exercise can also help with body image. With regard to social media, unfollowing social media accounts that result in excessive comparison or feelings of distress. Excessively seeking out social media content that results in downward social comparison, or, taking the stance that you are not as good (fit, thin, healthy, etc.), as the person or account you are viewing, is especially detrimental to mental health. Following body positive influencers or accounts may help. However, if you find it difficult to identify with the message that you should simply love your body as it is, it may be wise to distance yourself from these types of posts as well. negative body image and disordered eating in response.

For those with serious anxiety, depression or eating disorders related to poor body image, psychotherapy or counseling is recommended. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an effective form of therapy that can be used to target poor body image as a stand-alone issue or in the context of effective eating disorder treatment. It can take a long time to get to a place of love for your body, especially after years of dissatisfaction and efforts to change your body. Therapy can help you to move first toward a place of body acceptance and appreciation.
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Additional Information:
For more information on the media and body image, follow these links to body image in the media, the perfect body image, and Barbie and body image. To find out how you can help and to learn about healthy body images and body dysmorphic disorder, just follow the links. Learn more about how weight stigma and eating disorders are related.

Here is a list of celebrities that promote a healthy body image. Be sure to choose your role models carefully.

See also these tips from the National Eating Disorder Association: 10 Steps to Positive Body Image
Return To Home Page Written by Tabitha Farrar - 2014 References:
Updated by Dr Elisha Mitchell Carcierei, Ph.D. - 2019
1. Park, S. (2005). The influence of presumed media influence on women's desire to be thin.Communication Research, 32(5), 594-614.

2. Hargreaves, D. A., &Tiggemann, M. (2004). Idealized media images and adolescent body image: "comparing" boys and girls. Body Image, 1(4), 351-361.

3. LM, Irwin CE & Scully S: Disordered eating characteristics in girls: A survey of middle class children. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 1992

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Body image refers to a person's personal view of their body shape, size, weight, and appearance. It also consists of how greatly one values a desired body weight, size or shape, preoccupation, level of satisfaction, and fear of weight gain.

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This Counterclaim article talks about how some girls across the world paint their faces as Body Image. But they also wear tight clothes and perform plastic surgery as part of a long-standing and universal tradition. They think it is good for them to do this. It also talks about feminist ideology where it expects them to be different or better than the rest of humanity. And some European and Russian feminists have often clashed with the received view and made Americans who engaged in the dialog to rethink some of their most basic assumptions

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This picture describes my argument because some people think that losing weight will cure their negative body image but that's not the case.

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What this picture means for my argument is that girls and boys mostly go on eating disorders to look like people in the media. But that's not reality.

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This picture is a big deal for my argument because girls and boys think that having an eating disorder is nothing if they look like girls or guys in the media or magazines. that's not true.

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This picture goes with my argument because some people could sacrifice their mental health for the perfect body. That is wrong and people could look at things differently because of that.

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This picture goes with my argument because everyone needs to know that their perfect just the way they are and not follow a girl in a magazine because the girl in the magazine doesn't even look like the girl in the magazine.

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This video talks about ways to love and appreciate your body.

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5 Ways To Love Your Body with Michelle Marie McGrath

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This video talks about how teens edit their photos to make themselves look pretty.

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This Viewpoint article talks about how not just girls, but celebrities take drastic measures to look pretty too. It talks about their plastic surgeries they took and how they regret it now. Social media is also causing people to get plastic surgeries. For example, there was the Kylie Jenner challenge that made girls go to drastic measures to temporarily inflate their own lips. Everyone sees how these dangerous measures occur online and in real life.

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Girls Are Taking Drastic Measures To Achieve the Perfect Instagram Snap

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Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2019. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, http%3A%2F%2Flink.galegroup.com%2Fapps%2Fdoc%2FZDPKRV953665122%2FOVIC%3Fu%3Dpl2683%26sid%3DOVIC%26xid%3D9ff805e1. Accessed 6 Mar. 2019. Originally published as "Girls Are Taking Drastic Measures To Achieve the Perfect Instagram Snap," Teen Vogue, 20 Oct. 2015.

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This Reference article talks about how some girls perform eating disorders just because their mom's have done it. Also because when puberty hits they grow more and girls consider themselves "fat". Boys are also affected by body image concerns. They can be teased because of their weight problems or because people think their too overweight to play any type of sport. Some boys sculpt their bodies to look muscular but they go to dangerous lengths and achieve this look by taking anabolic steroids.

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Young people learn about how society defines the ideal physique primarily from various forms of print and digital media that bombard them with images. For girls, the ideal body is typically presented as slim and toned, while for boys, the ideal physique is often one that is strong with a low percentage of body fat.