Prevention is the Solution
How to prevent eating disorders
Can promoting a healthy body image in middle school help prevent eating disorders?
A common misconception is that eating disorders have always been a minor problem and that some people just have it them and some people don’t. Eating disorders are actually much more common than we think. Indeed the most common eating disorder, anorexia nervosa which is when someone under-eats and becomes extremely underweight, is the third most common chronic illness among young adults. Eating disorders are a mental problem related to how one feels in their body, not a physical one. This means that it is possible to prevent them by making sure people never feel uncomfortable in their body. Eating disorders can also affect someone physically and mentally for their entire lives. Once someone has developed an eating disorder it takes a lot of time, money and effort to rehabilitate them.
The main reason people develop eating disorders is because they have a bad body image. A bad body image is when you feel negatively about your body because you feel like it should look different. This can cause people to feel so uncomfortable and unhappy in their body that the only way to make themselves feel better is through an eating disorder. Therefore in order to prevent eating disorders we need to prevent bad body image. In today’s world bad body image is something very easily developed; there is so much social pressure to have the “perfect body” with magazines using models who are on average 5’’11 weighing 117 pounds when the actual average woman is 5’’4 and weighs 140. There is also pressure from peers and pressure from classmates because everyone doesn’t develop at the same time. Body image is mostly developed in middle school when young girls and young boys start to physically and mentally mature.
Middle school is the best time for prevention. This is when children start to understand how they feel about their bodies. If we can reinforce a positive body image while they develop these feelings the risk of negative body image, and as of consequence eating disorders, will be greatly reduced. It is hard to limit what outside social pressures they are being exposed to. It is therefore most effective to teach them about positive body image at school. Counseling is the most suitable way to do so because it allows for one on one conversation where the children feel at ease as well as group sessions to let them know they’re not alone. Current counseling doesn’t put enough emphasis on the importance of body image and isn’t proactive enough. Rather than wait for the child to feel brave enough to come talk to a counselor the counselors should have mandatory meetings with them to ensure that all children are getting the support they need.
Can promoting a healthy body image in middle school help prevent eating disorders?
A common misconception is that eating disorders have always been a minor problem and that some people just have it them and some people don’t. Eating disorders are actually much more common than we think. Indeed the most common eating disorder, anorexia nervosa which is when someone under-eats and becomes extremely underweight, is the third most common chronic illness among young adults. Eating disorders are a mental problem related to how one feels in their body, not a physical one. This means that it is possible to prevent them by making sure people never feel uncomfortable in their body. Eating disorders can also affect someone physically and mentally for their entire lives. Once someone has developed an eating disorder it takes a lot of time, money and effort to rehabilitate them.
The main reason people develop eating disorders is because they have a bad body image. A bad body image is when you feel negatively about your body because you feel like it should look different. This can cause people to feel so uncomfortable and unhappy in their body that the only way to make themselves feel better is through an eating disorder. Therefore in order to prevent eating disorders we need to prevent bad body image. In today’s world bad body image is something very easily developed; there is so much social pressure to have the “perfect body” with magazines using models who are on average 5’’11 weighing 117 pounds when the actual average woman is 5’’4 and weighs 140. There is also pressure from peers and pressure from classmates because everyone doesn’t develop at the same time. Body image is mostly developed in middle school when young girls and young boys start to physically and mentally mature.
Middle school is the best time for prevention. This is when children start to understand how they feel about their bodies. If we can reinforce a positive body image while they develop these feelings the risk of negative body image, and as of consequence eating disorders, will be greatly reduced. It is hard to limit what outside social pressures they are being exposed to. It is therefore most effective to teach them about positive body image at school. Counseling is the most suitable way to do so because it allows for one on one conversation where the children feel at ease as well as group sessions to let them know they’re not alone. Current counseling doesn’t put enough emphasis on the importance of body image and isn’t proactive enough. Rather than wait for the child to feel brave enough to come talk to a counselor the counselors should have mandatory meetings with them to ensure that all children are getting the support they need.
About the author
Emily Prickril is a freshman at University of Maryland. She is majoring in Neurobiology and Physiology. She has both an American and French high school diploma. For her French BAC she did a project on the image of beauty and has great interest on how people perceive their bodies and how this affects them.
Emily Prickril is a freshman at University of Maryland. She is majoring in Neurobiology and Physiology. She has both an American and French high school diploma. For her French BAC she did a project on the image of beauty and has great interest on how people perceive their bodies and how this affects them.