For Young Women, Self Worth Defined by BMI

A study published in the BMC Public Health journal reports on how young women, as early as age 11, are almost directly defining self worth according to their body weight. In a time of rapid increase in childhood obesity rates over the past two decades, with obesity affecting 1 out of 3 children in the United States, it is no wonder that children are feeling pressured and prodded to lose weight - but how much is too much?

Time Magazine reports on the study and tells us how thin is in for these pre-teens, which can lead to eating disorders down the line:

Given that dissatisfaction with body image is strongly linked with an increased risk for eating disorders, the researchers were particularly concerned to find that the perception of perfection began at such a young age. Overall, 7.3% of the girls included in the study reported that they didn't like they way they looked, but that increased proportionately as girls' weight, measured by body mass index (BMI), went up. For girls with normal body weight, 5.7% reported being unhappy with their bodies, among those who were overweight, 10.4% did, and among girls who were categorized as obese, 13.1% were unhappy with how they looked. For girls, the researchers noted, every one unit increase in BMI measurement indicated about an 8% increase in body dissatisfaction.

The BMC Public Health journal offers this data not only to warn society, but also guide programs aimed at reducing obesity in children. The study demonstrates the intense differences in body satisfaction, weight related behaviors, and weight gain in youth between boys and girls. This should help frame public health initiatives for overweight prevention with children through better understanding of factors underlying gender differences in body satisfaction. Additionally, it was discovered that families with low parental education and in rural communities tend to contribute to poorer body satisfaction among preadolescent girls, which can help programs approach the issue not only by gender, but socio-economic and geographic background as well.

After reading all this - I have to wonder: what are we doing to young women to make them feel so conflicted about their bodies? I'm no child therapist and I hate to leverage the typical "blame the media" cliche, but I genuinely want to ask: how can we make young women feel more confident about themselves, about their bodies and about their health?

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