Body Image

Media's Influence

Our world is flooded with messages in the media about how we should look, act, dress, think and believe. Without alternative role models that challenge the media stereotype, we are often left with just the media’s messages of how we should look and be.

Some of these messages include:

There is an ‘ideal body type’ that everyone should strive for
There is an ‘ideal beautiful’ and if you don’t look like that you are not beautiful
Girls must be feminine and guys must be masculine
The most important thing is to look good
These messages can affect how we feel about ourselves from the minute we get up to the minute we fall asleep … if we let it!
We have to wise up and challenge the media stereotype, embrace diversity, choose our own role models and embrace our own uniqueness.
Challenging the body image ideal

Things you and your friends can do:

Challenge the messages you give to yourself. Would you judge your friends and family by the same standards you judge yourself?

Think critically of the media. Remember often advertising campaigns are designed to make you feel bad about how you look so that you go buy their product. Don’t buy into it.

Challenge people’s focus on appearance. Don’t rate people out of 10, don’t whistle or talk about being hot or not. See them for who they are not what they look like.

Show respect and don't judge. Show respect for people of different shapes, sizes, abilities, and appearance. You don’t know their journey, so be respectful and don’t judge.

Remind yourself of positives. Write a list of the things you love about yourself – inside and out. Stick it on your mirror and add to it.

Celebrate! Celebrate International No Diet day (6th of May) and Body Image Awareness week (1st – 8th September).

Join your school’s Youth Health Council. YHCs discuss issues like body image, media literacy, healthy eating, fitness and nutrition at school and find ways to raise awareness to other students. If your school doesn’t have a YHC and you think it should, click here for more info.

Create awareness. Hold a Body Image awareness day at your school, with a bake sale, special guests, a talent quest or a photo competition!

Set goals not rules. Do you set rigid rules for yourself and have unreachable expectations? Make sure your goals are SMART and about more than just weight.

Focus on feeling better rather than looking better. Eat nutritious food, go for a walk and drink lots of water with the aim of having more energy and better health!

Set a good example. Celebrate your own uniqueness by rocking your personal style and attitude. Dance, swim, wear shorts and singlets (if you want), and enjoy a picnic – whatever size or shape you are.

Love those around you for who they are. Write down how you see your best friend and send it to them as a little ‘thank you’ message for who they are.

Links we love:

Healthy Eating

Following the food pyramid is an awesome model for healthy eating! Here are some tips!

Keep balanced. As the pyramid shows, eat mostly grains, fruits and vegies, some dairy and protein and only a little sugars and fats.
Eat 5+ a day. Experts recommend you eat at least 3 servings of vegies and 2 servings of fruit every day.
Don’t cut out whole food groups. Carbs, fats and protein are all necessary for health.
Limit your sugars. Sugars hide in unexpected places. Did you know? Many fruit juices have sugar added to them – making them just as sugary as fizzy drinks?! Look for juices with no added sugar or just eat the fruit.
Pick takeaway options carefully. Most are high in salt, sugar, and saturated fats which are not good for your health. Keep these to a minimum. If you are getting a takeaway, go for a veggie and meat stirfry, salmon sushi, kebabs with a light dressing, or a chicken sub from Subway.
Respect others choices. Some people have dietary restrictions because of their health, religious or ethical reasons. Rather than judging, show respect for them by enquiring about their choices and hearing their point of view on things.

Dieting

Being thin is not the same as being healthy. There are good and bad ways to lose weight. Some people match the body stereotypes the media portrays but are actually unfit and not healthy at all.
Lose weight healthily. Healthy weight loss happens when you reduce your overall calories and increase exercise (while still keeping your diet balanced).
Ignore ‘fads’ or ‘quick-fix’ options. For a healthy weight long-term, you have to eat a balanced healthy diet and exercise regularly for the rest of your life.
Inform yourself. Get good info about health and nutrition from public health organisations, such as the Ministry of Health and District Health Boards, not from people who market ‘revolutionary’ diet plans.
Seek advice first. Any confusion over nutrition or major changes to your diet should first be discussed with your G.P. or practice nurse.
Make long-lasting lifestyle changes. Dieting rather than eating a balanced diet and exercising can have negative consequences, such as gaining more weight when the diet stops, holding onto weight, cravings, guilt and disappointment, and can even lead to eating disorders.

Eating Disorders

Many people (both guys and girls) engage in unbalanced eating behaviours for a whole variety of reasons. Some reasons include having poor self-esteem, poor body image, high expectations and social pressure to look a certain way, as well as poor coping strategies for dealing with stress, low mood and anxiety.

On the extreme end, these behaviours are described as eating ‘disorders’. In these cases, unbalanced eating can be extremely harmful to the body and sometimes deadly.
Although it can be hard to break these habits, it is possible with the right support, to return to balanced eating habits.
Unbalanced eating habits include...

Overly strict or controlled food intake
Overly preoccupied with dieting and food
Yo-yo dieting
Poor body image
Self-induced starvation
Binge eating
Self-induced vomiting
Laxative abuse
Excessive exercising

Do you think you might have eating difficulties? Take our quiz.What can I do to have more balanced eating habits?

Don’t have ‘good’ or ‘bad’ foods – give yourself permission to eat any kind of food.
Use hunger as the cue for eating - not time of day or habit.
When you are sad, mad or bored – and you are really not hungry – take a deep breath, find something to do other than eat
Eat until you are feeling just about full but not stuffed.
Eat slowly, chew your food and eat without distractions like T.V.
Eat a variety of foods. Have fun with it – try new foods and cook new recipes.
Stay hydrated by drinking water
Notice how your body reacts to certain foods.
Question food packaging’s descriptions of “healthy” and “nutritious”

I think I need help.
Who can hook me up with support?There are people out there who can help you to be happy and healthy, build up your self-esteem and confidence, have balanced eating and exercise habits and cope with stress and overwhelming emotions.

A trusted adult, like a teacher, guidance counsellor, parent, family friend
Your G.P.
Youthline – call 0800 37 66 33 or free text to 234
Eating Disorders Association of New Zealand (EDANZ) – call (09) 522 2679
Eating Awareness Team (EAT) in Christchurch- call (03) 3667725
Central Region Eating Disorder Services (CREDS) in Wellington – call (04) 461 6528
211 Family Services Directory Helpline – call 0800 211 211 and they will help put you in touch with a service that is close to you.

How to help a friend:Remember that having eating difficulties isn’t just a problem on its own but also how someone has tried to cope with other problems in their life.

It definitely isn’t ‘just for attention’ or something they can ‘snap out of’.
Talk to them calmly and gently in a private and relaxed setting about the things you have seen or felt that make you feel worried.
Try not to get drawn into conversations about appearance, weight, diet and food.
Your friend obviously really trusts you! Be careful not to judge and blame them.
There is a limit to what you can do to help your friend. Often professional support is required, so speak to someone you trust who is in a position to help.
Let your friend know what you intend to do before you do it.

Exercise has HUGE benefits not just for our body, but for our mind and our mood too!

Exercise

Exercise can:

Increase our energy levels
Lower our stress levels
Improve our strength and endurance
Increase our confidence and self-esteem
Make us feel happier
Help us sleep better
Help our brains function better
Help us stay healthy and live for longer

Tips for making exercise fun
It’s possible to enjoy physical activity just for fun, without worrying about doing enough, being competent or losing weight! Here’s how:

Listen to your body. Your body will tell you when you need to be more or less active, what is enjoyable and what’s best for you.
Mix it up. Don’t restrict yourself to just running and lifting weights. Hiking, dancing, paddle boarding, swimming, rock climbing, martial arts, Frisbee, rollerblading and biking all count as exercise!
Make it social. Start a social sports team, play volleyball or touch on the weekend, or have an early morning walk or swim with a friend!
Make your dog’s day every day. Take the dog for a walk if you have one – that way you are taking care of your pet and looking after your health at the same time too!
Become babysitter extraordinaire. Take younger siblings and family or even the next door neighbours kids (ask first!) to the park and push them on the swings, play catch and throw a ball.
Have indoor options. Rent or buy an exercise DVD or if you’re lucky enough to have a Wii or Xbox Kinect – they have heaps of active games and fitness options. You may feel silly at first but if it’s just you in your lounge, who cares?
Get amongst the community. Check out your local community or church hall/centre. There are community Zumba, dance classes, running groups or boot camps!

Tips for healthy exercising

If you feel really uncomfortable (like dizzy, too hot, too cold or pain – stop. It’s your body’s way of letting you know that it’s had enough!
If you have asthma or other breathing issues, check with your doctor before you head outdoors in the cold air.
Wear a helmet if you're riding a bike, skateboarding or rollerblading.
Layer your clothing so you can adjust your clothing to suit your body temperature.
Wear shoes with good grip so you don’t slip over!
Drink heaps of water.
Ease into it by doing some light exercise to start off with (e.g. jumping jacks and jogging on the spot) to warm your muscles up a bit. This will stop injury or unnecessary pain.
Stretch after you finish exercising to avoid injury.