HEALTHY BODY IMAGE

Short Description
healthy body image attitudes and healthy lifestyle choices-that are equally attainable by all, … The goals of the Healthy Body Image curriculum have been …

Website: www.bodyimagehealth.org | Filesize: 199kb

Content
PREFACE
HEALTHY BODY IMAGE
Second Edition
Beyond Prevention of Eating Disorders
Many will assume this curriculum was designed to prevent eating disorders and/or stem the
rising tide of obesity in young students, but this would miss a much bigger picture. While too
many children will suffer a diagnosable eating or weight disorder, almost all children growing up
today-particularly the vast majority of girls-will become anxious and/or dissatisfied with their
body size and shape and will learn to make unhealthy, nutritionally inadequate,
counterproductive, and even dangerous lifestyle choices as a result. Primary prevention efforts
are therefore needed to target the seedbed within which the full spectrum of body image, eating,
nutrition, fitness, and weight problems take root and grow. In response, the Healthy Body Image
curriculum was developed to prevent or reduce the influence of insidious risk factors that
diminish the body esteem, well-being, and health of the vast majority of children today,
regardless of size.
First, Do No Harm
While most body image, eating, nutrition, fitness, and weight disorders are cultivated in the
same, increasingly “toxic,” cultural environment, these problems have generally been regarded
separately when it comes to prevention and intervention. It has…