Archive for the 'Body Image' Category

Q & A with Rosalind Wiseman – Part II

On Sunday we posted Part I of our interview with best-selling author, Rosalind Wiseman, an expert in teaching parents, educators and other adults how to effectively guide youth through the social challenges of Girl World and Boy World.  Today’s post includes Part II of our Q & A which ventures into the effects of parents’ own body image issues, adolescent “beauty pageants”, and the role of teachers in developing kids’ body image.  Read on to find out what Rosalind has to say about these important topics, then join us in Baltimore on February 21st for her keynote presentation, “Positive Parenting for a Healthy Self Image: Helping Children Develop Social Competence and Body Confidence in Girl World and Boy World.

In your book, Queen Bees & Wannabes you write, “Adolescence is a beauty pageant. Even if your daughter doesn’t want to be a contestant, others will look at her as if she is”.  How can we teach our girls to socialize effectively without engaging in that competition? 

All of us, but particularly adolescents, tend to focus on what other people think about them, and pleasing and conforming to what other people want. So there are three things I think are key to helping your child successfully disengage from the competition.  The first is having an adult in addition to your parent whom you feel comfortable going to with problems. Second is having one friend who really has your back and whose loyalty means they will confront you respectfully when they’re worried about you or see you behaving in destructive ways. And third is having one competency (a sport, a skill, etc.) that allows you to feel good about yourself apart from how you look – it’s a reminder that you are more than your appearance.

How can a parent help their child develop social competence and body confidence if they are still struggling with their own body image and self-esteem issues? 

When your child is faced with a problem in any capacity having to do with body image, you’re on a road together to support the child.  A parent’s sacred responsibility is to ask themselves difficult questions about themselves and their own behavior. That means examining your beliefs about how your self worth is determined by your body image, and the messages that you’ve imparted about that to your child.  This is important not only for a parent who has eating issues or is struggling with their weight, but also the parents who in the things they say, even if they mean well, may come across as really degrading.  So, saying things like, “Do you really want to eat that?” or, “If you lose 10 pounds, I’ll give you X reward.”

And if you as a parent have or are struggling with these issues, one of the most important, profound things you can do is to admit the challenges you’ve had and how that impacts the way that you speak to them.  You need to ask your child, “Do I say things that annoy you about the way you eat or how you look?  How do you feel when I say those things?  What’s a better way for me to talk to you about this?”

And if your child sees you doing anything – small concrete things – that reflect your thoughtfulness about this and your commitment to helping them and helping yourself, that is profoundly meaningful to them. You’re taking the risk to change, and that is one of the most important things for your child to be able to see because it’s going to be so much easier for them to take that leap themselves.

What role do teachers, school staff and other professionals play in “girl world & boy world”?  As non-family members, can they make a difference (for better or worse) in a child’s long-term self-esteem or body image?

Of course teachers and other adults in kids’ lives can, for better or worse, have an effect on a child’s self-esteem. A helpful adult can pierce the notion that it’s normal to feel self-loathing and that you’re nothing unless you look a certain way. It may be common, but it doesn’t mean it’s right. Secondly, the same as with parents, you allow students to have conversations that make you uncomfortable, and don’t answer them with cliché statements like “everyone’s beautiful in their own way.”

Educators must not allow children to ever tease others about their looks or make comments themselves about a student’s appearance.  Even if the teacher or professional doesn’t have the expertise to help a child who’s suffering from a problem with body image or eating disorders, the relationship they have with the child serves as a bridge to encourage them to take the enormous risk of asking for help.

Many thanks to Rosalind Wiseman for taking the time to provide such insightful and thorough responses to our questions!  If you are interested in attending her presentation on February 21st at The Conference Center at Sheppard Pratt, please RSVP by calling (410) 938-3157 or email rsvp@sheppardpratt.org.  Admission is FREE but seats are limited so reserve your’s today! 

Visit our Events page for a listing of additional free community events hosted by The Center for Eating Disorders in recognition of the upcoming, National Eating Disorders Awareness Week (February 21-27).

Did you miss Part I of the Q & A blog with Rosalind Wiseman yesterday?  Read it here .

Published by Kate Clemmer
February 9th, 2010 in Body Image, CED Events, Celebrity Topical News, Editor's Picks
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Baltimore’s Jewish Community Braves Snow to Attend Eating Disorders Conference

“Promoting Self-Esteem & Positive Body Image: A Program for the Jewish Community” 

On Sunday January 31, 2010, The Center for Eating Disorders (CED) at Sheppard Pratt, in partnership with The Orthodox Union and in collaboration with Hadassah of Greater Baltimore and Jewish Community Services, hosted an event to help shed light on the issue of eating disorders and body image concerns within the Jewish community.  Sunday’s free event, which attracted nearly 200 people to The Conference Center at Sheppard Pratt in Towson was the first of its kind to take place in Maryland.  Key players in the event’s success include those pictured above, from left, Frank Buchweitz (National Director of OU Community Services and Special Projects), Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb (Keynote Speaker), Dr. Harry Brandt (CED Director), Catherine Steiner Adair (Plenary Speaker) and Dr. Steven Crawford (CED Associate Director).

 

Despite an unexpected dose of winter weather the night before, the day began as scheduled with Rabbi Dr. Weinreb, a Baltimore native, speaking to the crowd about the intersection of the Jewish faith and eating disorders.  Rabbi Dr. Weinreb, pictured above during his keynote presentation, discussed the importance of nourishing one’s body and caring for it in a way that simultaneously promotes health and the Jewish culture.  Following this presentation, conference attendees dispersed into five diverse morning workshops including a screening of the documentary “Hungry To Be Heard”, moderated by the film’s Executive Producer, Elisheva Diamond, M.A. (pictured below, left).

Also pictured above (right) is Catherine Steiner Adair, Ed.D. who provided the plenary address entitled, “Raising Strong and Resilient Children in Today’s Society”.  During her talk, Dr. Steiner Adair discussed the progression of body image pressures throughout the twentieth century as well as the implications of society’s obsession with thinness on today’s young Jewish women. Later in the day, a panel of Jewish high school students from various Baltimore schools, discussed the real life pressures they feel to succeed academically, socially, and to fit the standard definition of beauty.

Those in attendance at the conference included religious and community leaders from Baltimore’s Jewish community, parents, young people, psychologists, social workers and other mental health providers, as well as individuals in recovery from eating disorders.  After a successful event, Dr. Crawford and Dr. Brandt of the Center for Eating Disorders, along with additional CED staff (pictured above) look forward to coordinating additional follow up community events to help continue creating awareness about the need for the prevention, early identification and treatment of eating disorders within this community and others affected by eating disorders.   

If you missed this event but are interested in finding out whats coming up next on the calendar, please visit our Events page and visit our Facebook page to see additional photos from this event.

Published by Kate Clemmer
February 5th, 2010 in Body Image, CED Events, Celebrity Topical News, Editor's Picks
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Eating Disorders in the Jewish Community

Tackling issues often wondered about and little discussed…

Eating disorders are amongst the most serious of medical conditions with high rates of morbidity, including the highest death rate of any psychiatric illness.  It is important to note that within diverse populations, the stressors that may exacerbate an eating disorder can vary greatly, as can unique cultural factors which may serve as preventive or protective factors.  In recent years, more attention has been paid to these issues within the Jewish community specifically, as concerns continue to surface about increasing numbers of Jewish girls and boys struggling with eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. 

An increasing rate of eating disorders is certainly not unique to the Jewish population – numbers are rising across the country regardless of ethnicity, religion or race.  However, the effective prevention, early identification and treatment of eating disorders within the Jewish community is dependent upon education and discussion that is socially and culturally relevant to those who are affected.  For example, the centralized role of food in Jewish heritage and traditions, including celebratory feasts and fasting, as well as stressors associated with the shidduchim, or traditional Jewish matchmaking, may influence one’s relationship with food and weight.

Research around eating disorders in the Jewish community has been done but studies regarding the prevalence are somewhat conflicting. According to one study, eating disorders affect one out of every 19 girls ages 14 – 16 in the Orthodox and Syrian communities, a rate that is 50% greater than in the general population.  Other studies have shown that while the incidence of eating disorders among the Jewish population may not necessarily be greater than that of the general population, Jews are often part of a demographic that would be more susceptible to eating disorders.  Orthodox women were found to have similar rates of eating disorders as secular Jewish women, however Orthodox women may be less likely to seek treatment given the cultural stigma that exists around the issue.  This stigma is a key reason why it has become so important to shed light on the topic of eating disorders in the Jewish community.   

On January 31st2010, the Center for Eating Disorders and the Orthodox Union will host a workshop in collaboration with Jewish Community Services and Hadassah of Greater Baltimore to address the topics identified above as well as the importance of self-esteem, body image and family communication in the Jewish community.  The free community event, Promoting Self Esteem & Healthy Body Image: A Program for the Jewish Community, is intended to help people develop a better understanding of the seriousness of these illnesses and help them identify risk factors and utilize prevention techniques.  This program is focused on addressing these concerns as they uniquely affect the Jewish Community and is geared toward educators, clinicians, parents, lay persons, and family members of affected individuals.

With a large Jewish population in the Baltimore area, we hope to provide the community with education about prevention strategies, risk factors for early identification, and the effective treatment of individuals with eating disorders. This workshop will include a plenary session from Catherine Steiner Adair, Ed.D,Director of Education and Preventions at the Klarman Eating Disorders Center at McLean Hospital in Belmont, MD.  Dr. Steiner Adair is a leader in the field of eating disorder treatment and the author of Full of Ourselves: A Wellness Program to Advance Girl Power, Health, and Leadership. She has also published a supplement to this guidebook, titled Bishvilli- For Me, specifically to assist those in the Jewish Community to utilize these activities in a way that compliment their lifestyle.

The program’s keynote address will be presented by Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, Executive Vice President, Emeritus of the Orthodox Union.  He will be focusing on the issues of self esteem and eating disorders as they affect those in the Orthodox Jewish Community.  Eight other workshops will be facilitated by eating disorder professionals and mental health providers who have an understanding of the concerns of the Jewish Community.  For a full listing of presenters and workshop titles, download the Event Program.  Those who attend the program will have an opportunity to learn about and discuss the following subjects:

  • Recognize the signs and symptoms of eating disorders
  • Identify early warning signs and risk factors of eating disorders
  • Become aware of the effects of eating disorders and related issues in the Jewish community
  • Understand how modern therapeutic techniques can be applied while maintaining respect for traditional Jewish culture and values
  • Utilize Jewish tradition, culture, spirituality, and rituals as resources for health and protective factors against the development of negative body image and eating disorders

Attendance at this event is free but pre-registration is required. Please call 410-938-3157 or email rsvp@sheppardpratt.org to reserve your seat. Download the FINAL PROGRAM BROCHURE for complete details and share the promotional event flyer with others who may be interested in attending.

photo courtesy of jewishharlem.com

Published by Kate Clemmer
January 7th, 2010 in Body Image, CED Events, Editor's Picks, In the News
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Parties and Presents and Resolutions, Oh My!

The end of a calendar year brings with it endless conversations of new year’s resolutions.  Setting these notoriously lofty goals is often an attempt to pull oneself out of the seasonal funk that can settle in with shorter days, colder weather and a barrage of holiday stressors.  When people make resolutions, it is often with the intent to completely overhaul their life.  They look to make a sweeping change that will fix all that is wrong, and get them back on the “right track”.  Unfortunately, this particular type of goal setting usually backfires – as evidenced by the fact that most people end up making the same exact resolutions year after year.  

New year’s resolutions also send a message that today doesn’t count – it gives us permission to stay unhappy or unhealthy ”just a little bit longer” until January 1st rolls around. This could mean different things for different people depending on whether you are working towards recovery from an eating disorder, still struggle with chronic yo-yo dieting or are trying to quit smoking.  So, how do you pull yourself out of the winter blues without jumping on the resolution bandwagon?  Here are a few ideas to get you started…

1.  Don’t wait.  Start making small adjustments today that have nothing to do with food, eating, or your weight. Creating small but positive disruptions in your daily routine can help you stay grounded and may even help to break a cycle of negative thoughts or eating disorder symptoms that are associated with certain places or a time of day.

  • Try taking a different route to work or school.  This small change could open up new possibilities, even if its just observing the new scenery or discovering a park along the way that you never knew existed!  Who knows, you may even find out that your new detour involves less traffic or fewer lights.
  • Do some interior designing.  Consider rearranging some furniture or updating a picture wall inside your house or apartment.  Visible changes such as these can offer a sense of renewal without the obligation or pressure.
  • These are just a few examples…you can come up with your own ideas for “minor adjustments” and share them on our Facebook page.

2. Setting goals is a great thing but not if the goal is unrealistic, unhealthy, too vague, or involves intense pressure to succeed.  All of these charactersistics can make it very difficult to follow through with a resolution.  Instead, focus on taking small, concrete steps forward in the direction of balanced living.    

  • If you tend to make resolutions that are unrealistic and unhealthy…“I have to get myself to the gym.  I’m going to purchase a membership and force myself to go everyday, no matter what.”
    • Try this instead: “I will commit to going to one or two community yoga classes by the end of the month and work on developing a positive and supportive relationship with my body.”
  • If you tend to make resolutions that are vague and counterproductive… “I need to lose weight by the summer so I’m really going to stick to my diet this year!”
    • Try this instead: “I give myself permission to stop dieting and to trust my body. If I need the help of a professional nutritionist to do this, I will seek one out.”
  • If you tend to make resolutions that leave no room for error and put a lot of pressure on you to succeed…“As of January 1st, I am never going to act on my eating disorder symptoms again.”
    • Try this instead: “Before the week is over, I will call and schedule an appointment to begin seeing a therapist.” This is an example of a small but very meaningful task that can result in long-term change.  If you already see a therapist, consider this instead: “In the next week, I will use at least one new support or coping skill that I’ve never tried before.”  Examples include: attending a support group, journaling, or enrolling in art therapy.

3. Now that you’ve resolved NOT to make a resolution, how are you going to cope with everybody else who feels inclined to talk about resolutions, weight loss and diets all of the time? 

  •  Be the bearer of accurate news.  When your friends start discussing the new diet they will begin on January 1st, inform them about why diets don’t work.  If you’re not sure why, stay tuned for our upcoming blog that will convince you once and for all that dieting is NOT the way to go.
  • Try out the “shock and awe” technique. As others start to bemoan their hips and curse their thighs while resolving to change their bodies in the new year, employ the element of surprise – say something  NICE about yourself and your body. Body bashing has become such an accepted form of conversation (especially around the holidays) that when someone (You!) is able to reflect positively on their own body, people are seriously caught off guard and may think twice about their own statements.  Try one of the comments below or come up with a few of your own!
    • “I am so grateful for all of the things my body allows me to accomplish.” 
    • “I’m much more concerned about feeling strong and healthy than I am about fitting into a particular size.”
    • Even if you are not at a point in your life, or in recovery, where you actually believe these statements, say them anyway!  Saying them out loud helps move you in the right direction toward real change.  You will not only have helped yourself, but you will steer the conversation away from a negative place and become a role model for positive body image.  This is particularly important if children and adolescents are within earshot of the conversation.

Here’s to a happy and balanced end of 2009 and continued hopefulness in 2010! 

If you have any questions about eating disorders, please call our admissions coordinators at (410) 938-5252 to speak confidentially about your concerns and treatment options.  Additionally, you can visit our website at  www.eatingdisorder.org for more information, including an interactive on-line quiz that can help determine whether you, or someone you care about, might have an eating disorder that requires professional treatment.   

Photo courtesy of grandhoteloceancity.com

Published by Kate Clemmer
December 22nd, 2009 in Body Image, Celebrity Topical News, Editor's Picks, In the News, Nutrition
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Time for BODY POLICY in the UK?

   ”Media images that depict ultra-thin, digitally altered women models are linked to body dissatisfaction and unhealthy eating in girls and women, and there is also recent evidence of the detrimental effects of unrealistically sized dolls and toys which present role models to children… as well as the impact of muscular media models on boys and men.”   - excerpted from, The Impact of Media Images on Body Image and Behaviours: A Summary of the Scientific Evidence

While research has repeatedly shown the negative impact of media images on the perception of our own bodies, to date, little has been done to counteract these falsified images. In a move that is the first of its kind, the United Kingdom’s Liberal Democrat party is attempting to regulate these harmful marketing tactics with newly proposed public policies.  Recently, they requested a compilation of scientific research to indicate whether or not people were really negatively impacted by looking at airbrushed-to-perfection pictures in the media. In response to the request, scholars and researchers from around the world came together and created a consensus on how idealized images in the media impact the way individuals feel about their bodies and how those feelings translate into behaviors.

The international group of scientists and researchers provided an overwhelming amount of data supporting the relationship between exposure to idealized images and increased body image dissatisfaction. Their final report, The Impact of Media Images on Body Image and Behaviours: A Summary of the Scientific Evidence, discusses the effects of media images and outlines five proposed policies that could help to empower and protect individuals from the cultural obsession with thinness and perfection.  The research clearly shows that looking at images which have been unrealistically and excessively airbrushed can lead to poor personal body image and low self-esteem, both of which can lead to many physical and mental health problems.  Most notably, these problems include disordered eating and eating disorders, anxiety and depression, and even sexual dissatisfaction.  Using data from over 100 studies, researchers linked idealized media images to the increasing numbers of people with negative or distorted body image. In their paper, they concluded that, while these images do not have a universal impact, they do have a negative effect on the majority of those who see them.

The effects of media exposure begin very early in life and have been documented in girls as young as five and a half years old.  Furthermore, the images were found to have the greatest impact on some of the most vulnerable populations, including 1) adolescents, 2) those who are of a different body weight or shape than the ones being depicted, and 3) those who have internalized the cultural body ideals presented for men and women. The research goes on to suggest that the images have an “immediate and cumulative impact”, meaning that a negative self-evaluation occurs immediately following the viewing of such images, and with continued and repeated exposure, self-evaluation continues to decline and/or be distorted.  The paper points out that, although most people are aware that images they see have been retouched, many do NOT know just how extensive the airbrushing and “revisions” actually are.   

The collection of this information led the research team to the question, what will be effective in changing these negative outcomes? While media literacy education has been shown to have a beneficial impact, the real long-term solution is the changing of the images themselves. The researchers recommend that, instead of using distorted, caricatured versions of people, that real people and real images be used. In addition, they developed these five policies to target the areas in most desperate need of change.  

  • Policy 1. No digitally altered models in advertising aimed at under 16s
  • Policy 2. Clear labeling of digitally altered models in all other advertising.
  • Policy 3. Models used in Fashion Weeks to have a health certificate from an eating disorder specialist, in order to protect their health and well-being.
  • Policy 4. Encouragement for use of diverse and healthy body sizes in all media models.
  • Policy 5. Media literary programmes about ‘perfected’ models as part of school curricula to encourage critical awareness and resilience in children and adolescents.

The hope is, that by including pictures of real people and identifying when digital retouching is used, everyone can become more informed, and therefore, more realistic in their assessment of  media images. While there is much debate about whether or not these policies will actually have an impact on body image and eating behavior, it is important to note that the relationship between policy and individual change is cyclical.  As more individuals become aware of a problem, there is a greater push for policy change, and as more policies are implemented, they impact even more people, leading to greater awareness and more effective, long-term change.  If approved in the United Kingdom, these changes could positively impact an entire generation of girls, boys, men and women and, perhaps, the United States will consider following suit.  

On the home front, Darryl Roberts, Director of the documentary “America The Beautiful”, is spearheading a drive to challenge advertisers and media in a different way.  He is currently leading a campaign to boycott Ralph Lauren until the company apologizes for it’s photoshopped ads and makes a personal commitment, (without being mandated by law), to stop using such drastic levels of photo manipulation to sell products.  If you support this idea, you can join the campaign by becoming a fan of the  ATB Action Network on Facebook.   

photo courtesy of  www.photos.igougo.com

Published by Kate Clemmer
December 11th, 2009 in Body Image, Celebrity Topical News, Editor's Picks, In the News
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Don’t Weigh In On This Technology!

On the heels of the Smartphone controversy, another piece of technology is further enabling people to obsess and lament over their weight.  The difference this time is that, instead of a private obsession with the number on the scale, this piece of modern equipment broadcasts a person’s weight for all to see over their twitter page. 

The technology in this case, happens to be a bathroom scale with a wireless connection to the internet.  The company behind this gimmick, contends that by automatically programming your bathroom scale to share results of each weigh-in with your entire social network via a twitter page or website, you will be more motivated to lose weight.  This technology gives unwarranted and unhealthy power to the number on the scale.  Even the LA Times Online article addressing the issue, touches on the questionable utility of this product but goes on to imply that one’s weight, as told by the scale, may be equally, or even more, relevant and revealing than how much debt a person owes or whether one has achieved their life dreams.  We, at The Center for Eating Disorders strongly disagree.  Weight is not a good indicator of health, beauty, or self-worth and should not be a determinant of success in a personal OR public forum. 

The weight-tweeting bathroom scale gets a big thumbs down from us.  Read the article and tell us what you think on our CED facebook page or CED twitter page.  We’d much rather hear from YOU than your bathroom scale! 

photo courtesy of whitezine.com

Published by Kate Clemmer
November 13th, 2009 in Body Image, Editor's Picks, In the News, Nutrition
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The Love Your Tree Program goes “Beyond Bars”…

Over the past four years, staff from the Center for Eating Disorders’ Love Your Tree program have traveled to many different places and worked with a variety of organizations on creating Love Your Tree posters and discussing the importance of positive body image in the prevention of eating disorders.  Middle schools, high schools, colleges, and community art centers - Love Your Tree has visited them all and found great enthusiasm for the program at every event. 

But  this past Saturday, September 5th offered a brand new stop on the 2009-2010 Love Your Tree tour – The Maryland Women’s Correctional Facility in Jessup, Maryland.  It is there, in a prison, that approximately 20 female inmates and their daughters meet together twice a month as the collective, Girl Scout Troop 7140.  This troop of mothers and daughters is part of the Beyond Bars program, run by the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland, whose overarching goal is to help girls discover who they are and gain the self-confidence they need to to fulfill their dreams. 

With the understanding that a positive body image can contribute greatly to one’s self-confidence and the knowledge that moms are particularly important to their daughter’s developing body image, the Love Your Tree program ventured into a collaboration with Beyond Bars to provide a body image and creative arts workshop for Troop 7140 and several media outlets were there as well!   Click on the links below to read or watch more about The Center for Eating Disorders’ Love Your Tree workshop and the Girl Scouts’ Beyond Bars program.

Click here to read The Baltimore Sun Article, “Inmates get ‘body image’ lesson: Resist one-size-fits all idea, says official from eating disorders center”

Click here to watch a Fox 5 News report, “Girl Scout Troop Meets in prison”, about the Love Your Tree & Beyond Bars event.

The Love Your Tree program is open to middle, high school and college-aged youth.  Workshops are available to a variety of community organizations and schools through November 2009, and poster submissions are due by December 18th.  Contact Kate Clemmer at (410) 427-3886 to schedule a workshop today!

Published by Kate Clemmer
September 10th, 2009 in Body Image, CED Events, In the News
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Dieting Pressures Start Early & Last a Lifetime

The Wall Street Journal ran an informative article yesterday by journalist, Jeffrey Zaslow, as a follow-up to a front-page story he did in 1986 on the dieting pressures and body ideals facing 9 year-old elementary school students.   Over twenty years ago,  Zaslow’s questioning found that over half of the girls surveyed reported that they were on a diet and 3/4 of them claimed they were too heavy. Additionally, the fourth-grade boys that were interviewed had negative things to say about the girls in their class who were not thin, which added to the pressures girls felt to lose weight .

Back then, the 1986 article helped to shed light on the problem of America’s obsession with thinness.  Unfortunately, the weight loss pressures have only gotten worse and the rates of eating disorders have risen dramatically since the ’80s.  Zaslow’s follow-up article hoped to answer questions about whether those fourth graders would somehow outgrow the image-focused mentality of their early childhood,  or “would these girls be burdened by the dieting culture as they grew into women?”

In his recent piece, Zaslow writes, “Those girls I interviewed are 32 and 33 years old now, and when I got back in touch with some of them last week, they said that they and their peers have never escaped society’s obsession with body image…some told stories of damaging diets and serious self-esteem issues regarding their weight.”

He also spoke with a researcher about the consequences of disordered eating on children at such a young age and reported that “A preoccupation with body image is now showing up in children as young as five, and it can be exacerbated by our culture’s increased awareness of obesity, which leaves many non-overweight kids stressed about their bodies.  This dieting by children can stunt growth and brain development.”  

As parents of young children it is important to be reminded that the issue of body image and weight is not one of vanity or something to be ignored.  It is serious and has serious consequences. This article shows very clearly that there are long-term effects and ongoing battles with food and weight that can stem from disordered eating and distorted body image in fourth grade and even earlier.       

It’s never too early.  Talk with your daughter.  Talk with your son.  Find out what they think and believe about weight and size and whether they feel pressured (or are putting pressure on others!) to look a certain way or to lose weight.  The conversations you have with them now, could prevent another generation of weight-obsession and rising numbers of eating disorders.

The Center for Eating Disorders’ Outreach Department is available to work with local parenting groups and organizations on how to foster healthy eating and positive body image in your children.  Call (410) 427-3886 for more information.

photo courtesy of newsroom-magazine.com

Published by Kate Clemmer
September 3rd, 2009 in Body Image, Celebrity Topical News, In the News, Nutrition
0 Comments

Bogus Billboard: A Response to PETA’s Vegetarian Ad Campaign in Jacksonville

 

If we needed another reminder about the epidemic of size prejudice that exists in our society, we have one. A PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) billboard that went up in Jacksonville, Florida took aim at beachgoers’ insecurities about their bodies with a cartoon picture of a larger woman and a tagline that reads “Save the Whales” followed by “Lose the Blubber: Go Vegetarian”.  The billboard has already been called disrespectful, tasteless, mean-spirited, and cruel by Jacksonville residents, bloggers, feminists and others who are speaking out about the ad so we won’t waste time re-stating the obvious.  However, in addition to causing unnecessary humiliation and shame, we are deeply concerned about the billboard’s misguided message about using vegetarianism as a weight-loss method.　　　　

At The Center for Eating Disorders, we were very concerned about the possibility that PETA’s billboard could potentially sway many people, especially adolescents, into unnecessary or unsupervised attempts at becoming vegetarians based on faulty information that it is an effective way to lose weight.  As a result, our team of registered dietitians put together some more factual information about vegetarianism for our readers.　

  •  Adolescents and young adults who are struggling emotionally and have a negative body image may be drawn to vegetarianism as a means to lose weight and “fit in”.
  • The decision to stop eating meat, or any other food group, may be a warning sign of an underlying eating disorder; becoming a vegetarian gives someone a socially acceptable cover-up for restricting food which is a major symptom of anorexia nervosa. 
  • Overly restricted or inappropriately selected vegetarian diets can easily result in significant malnutrition, delayed growth spurt, iron deficiency anemia and Vitamin B12 deficiency which can lead to irreversible damage to the nervous system.  
  • Vitamin and mineral deficiencies due to a poorly maintained vegetarian diet can be particularly detrimental to the growth and development of children and adolescents and breastfed infants of vegetarian mothers.
  • Vegetarianism is NOT a weight loss tool!  Adhering to vegetarianism takes diligence, knowledge, professional nutritional guidance and an increased intake of other foods that contain the vitamins and nutrients your body needs but is not receiving from meat.  In fact, it can take a larger amount of non-meat foods to satisfy the daily nutritional requirements that meat would supply in smaller portions.

A significant association between vegetarianism and eating disorders has been highlighted in several studies:

  • Young vegetarians between the ages of 15 and 23 report more binge eating episodes than non-vegetarians; Binge eating disorder is more common in vegetarian teens than in the general teen population. (1)
  • Vegetarian teens were found to be 2x as likely to diet frequently, 4x as likely to diet intensively and 8x as likely to abuse laxatives. (2)
  • 20-25% of current and former vegetarians were found to be taking part in unhealthy weight control behoviors including taking diet pills, abusing laxatives and purging. (1)
  • College women who claimed to be vegetarians had a significantly greater risk of developing eating disorders than did those who ate meat. (1)
  • Vegetarian males made up an especially high risk group for unhealthy weight control practices. (1)

In summary, vegetarian does NOT automatically = healthy.  When done properly and for the right reasons, being a vegetarian can be an appropriate lifestyle, but there is not enough information to suggest that a diet which includes meat and is based on recommended guidelines is not equally as beneficial as vegetarianism.  Furthermore, it is important to be knowledgeable about the risks associated with being a vegetarian, specifically that it can be a red flag for an eating disorder. 

Parents who observe their child becoming a vegetarian and believe it may be stemming from a desire to lose weight or that it might be related to an eating disorder can call our admissions coordinators at (410) 938-5252 for more information.

Contributions by:  Hannah Huguenin, MS, RD, LDN and Courtney Perkins, RD, LDN

References

1. Robinson-O’Brien C, Perry CL, Wall MM, Story M, Neumark-Sztainer D: Adolescent and Young Adult Vegetarianism: Better Dietary Intake and Weight Outcomes but Increased Risk of Disordered Eating Behaviors. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2009; 109(4):648-655

2.  Klopp SA, Heiss CJ & Smith HS. (1997). Self-reported vegetarianism may be a marker for college women at risk for disordered eating. Available at http://plaza.ufl.edu/chvaugha/Veggie%20paper.pdf

Published by Kate Clemmer
August 24th, 2009 in Body Image, Celebrity Topical News, Editor's Picks, In the News, Nutrition
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Our Photoshop Culture

 

Being a “critical viewer of the media” includes building up your resistance to negative body image messages projected by magazines, billboards, television – all forms of media.  Seeing the truth behind these messages, and being aware that things are not always as they seem in pictures, is part of this critical viewing process.   For parents, it is particularly important to talk to your kids about how magazine covers and other media outlets don’t actually portray real bodies.  Recently, the LA Times published an article which highlights our cultural obsession with Photoshop and how it is constantly used by the media to create an unrealistic definition of beauty and perfection.  Read the LA Times article , Photoshopped images: the good, the bad and the ugly, and then join in a discussion about it on our Facebook page or our discussion board.

Above image courtesy of blogocrats.files.wordpress.com

Published by Kate Clemmer
August 12th, 2009 in Body Image, Celebrity Topical News, Glossary Definitions, In the News
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