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Ryan O’Mara
Ramin Nadjafi
Nicole Milana
Elizabeth Basile
Justine Elfrink
Objectives
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Define Body Image
Determine why a positive body image is
important to overall health
Determine associations of negative body image
Identify warning signs and symptoms of negative
body image
Identify ways to improve body image
Defining Body Image
Marilyn Monroe
Pamela Anderson
Weight: 140 lbs.
Weight: 114 lbs.
Waste size: 12
Waste size: 2
Bra size: 36 C
Bra size: 34 DD
Then
Now
Different Ideals, Same Problem
History of “Body Image”
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Body Image, pre-1950
• Referred to war-related neuropathic conditions
• distorted perceptions induced by brain
(Berklow, 1997)
• example: phantom limb
History of “Body Image”
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Body Image, 1950s-Today
• Definition underwent transformation in 1950s
• Physiologists upgraded study of body image
• Contemporary concept of “body image” (BI)
is relatively new
(Cash and Pruzinsky, 1990)
Challenging Limiting Perceptions
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Limiting Perception: Female Only
•
Psychology/psychiatry dominate field of study
•
focus on eating disorders among young women
•
associate BI mostly with the weight and shape
of females
Challenging Limiting Perceptions
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Limiting Perception: Female Only
•
Males also subject to BI
I am the Governator!
Governor of
California
Challenging Limiting Perceptions
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Limiting Perception: Male vs. Female Only
•
BI covers more than gender-specific paradigms
Challenging Limiting Perceptions
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change in appearance due to condition or
treatment can drastically effect person’s BI
•
cancer
•
skin disease
•
burn
•
accident
Definition of Body Image
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BI includes:
•
perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors related
toward one’s body for any reason (Cash, 2004)
Determining why a positive
body image is important to
overall health
Body image influences
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Behavior
Self-esteem - a personal evaluation of one’s
worth as a person. It measures how much you
respect yourself and is directly related to body
image (Eating Disorder Referral and Information
Center, 1995)
Psyche
Self-esteem
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Physically: how happy you are with how you look
Intellectually: how well you feel you can
accomplish your goals
Emotionally: how much you feel loved
Morally: how you think of yourself as a person
High self esteem makes for a happier life!
Negative body image
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Satisfaction and mood plummets
Sense of self becomes unhealthy
Lose confidence in abilities
Problems in areas, including sexuality, careers and
relationships.
Loss of self confidence
"To lose confidence in one's body is to lose
confidence in one's self" -Simone de Beauvoir
(Women and Body Image, 2000)
Loss of self respect
Low self-esteem
Body Image and
emotional health
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What is emotional health?
(family doctor.org, 2000)
• Control of thoughts, feelings and behavior
• Can cope with stress and problems
• Keep problems in perspective
• Know when to seek help from
doctor/counselor
Body image and
emotional health
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Poor body image leads to poor emotional health
• Stressors: friends, boys, parents, media
• Unable to keep problems in perspective
• Body dimorphic disorder
• Doesn’t see a doctor/counselor when sick
• Eating disorders
• Emotionally depressed
Body image and
emotional health
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Poor emotional health effects
(family doctor.org, 2000)
• Distress
• Lowers immune system making a person
more susceptible to disease
• Anxiety can lead to other complications such
as high blood pressure
Physical effect of a negative
body image
Unhealthy dieting
• Anorexia
• Bulimia
• Yo-yo dieting
• Insufficient nutrients
 Over exercising
(Teen Health, 2000)
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Determine associations of
negative body image
The media
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Socio-cultural messages:
exposure to the thin ideal
produces depression, shame,
guilt, body dissatisfaction, and
stress
Media promotes current
mainstream culture’s
standards for body shape or
size and importance of beauty
Media message: if you try hard
enough, spend enough, suffer
enough, you can have the look
you want
The media
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Direct relationship between media exposure and
eating disorder symptoms (Dittrich, 2005)
Study: 14-18 year old girls exposed to images
and then valuate themselves
Women compare themselves to images of
women even when they are not asked to do so
Television and Movies
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Children spend more time
watching TV than they do in
school
American children spend 2228 hrs. a week watching TV
At age 70, Americans will have
spent 7-10 years of their life
watching TV
Television and movies
reinforce the importance of a
thin body as a measure of
woman’s worth (Gerber, 2005)
Over 75% of female characters
on TV are underweight and
only 20% are above average in
size
Magazines and advertisements
message of “thin is in”
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In 48 issues of women’s magazines 63 diet food
ads were found as compared to only 1 in 48
issues of men’s magazines
70% of women feel more depression, selfloathing, and shame at their bodies after looking
at fashion magazines (Nielson, 2004)
Over 75% of the covers of women’s magazines
include at least one message about how to
change a women’s bodily appearance by diet,
exercise, or cosmetic surgery (Gerber, 2005)
Puberty
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Most teens struggle with their self esteem
beginning at the onset of puberty (Rutherford,
2001)
Unhealthy crash dieting and eating disorders
often develop around this time in girls
Boys going through puberty may become
obsessed with weight training and steroid use
Identifying warning signs and
symptoms of negative body
image
Warning Signs
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Sudden weight loss
Skipping meals
Eating in secret
Stomach upset or
bloating following meals
Constipation or diarrhea
Constantly viewing
themselves in
comparison to others
Compulsively weighing
themselves
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Depression and Anxiety
Weakness or dizziness
An intolerance to cold
Frequent visits to the
bathroom after meals
Fixating upon and
overemphasizing certain
body parts
Commenting frequently
on other people's
appearances and/or body
shapes
Warning Sings Cont.
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Frequently viewing their
appearances in mirrors
Excessive or abnormal
exercise routine or dieting
excessively
Disordered eating habits
or refusing to eat all
together
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Unrealistic beauty
standards: The person is
likely to be extremely
critical of themselves and
of their peers.
Very low self-esteem
Using diet or laxative pills
In females, a loss of
menstruation.
Identifying ways to improve
body image
Understanding an individual’s
body image
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Body image is ever changing; sensitive to mood,
environment, and physical experience.
(psychotherapist, 1999)
It is a learned judgment; the learning occurs
from the family and peers. (psychotherapist,
1999)
Genetics does play a role in your body and at
least 25% to 70% of your body is determined by
your genes. (Center for Change, 1995)
Developing a Healthy Body
Image
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Listen to your body. Eat when you are hungry.
Exercise regularly in an enjoyable way, regardless of
size.
Expect normal weekly and monthly changes in weight
and shape
Ask for support and encouragement from friends and
family when life is stressful.
Decide how you wish to spend your energy pursuing
the "perfect body image" or enjoying family, friends,
school and, most importantly, life
(psychotherapist, 1999)