“Our lives are not beauty pageants.”
-Renee Engeln
REAL PROBLEM
70% of adolescent girls, and 40% of adolescent boys don’t like their bodies, leading to serious mental health consequences:
Body dissatisfaction is a risk factor for almost all eating disorders. The number of hospitalizations for eating disorders for adolescent girls doubled during the pandemic.
Body dissatisfaction is directly correlated to low self-esteem.
Research links body dissatisfaction to depression, isolation, and suicidal thoughts.
Body dissatisfaction is is linked to a lack of self-care including eating well, exercising and emotional awareness — if you don’t like your body, you don’t take care of it!
Body dissatisfaction is linked to risky sexual behavior — if you don’t like your body, you don’t care what happens to it!
We’ve been swimming in an appearance-obsessed culture for decades. It’s been hard to see the water get more polluted over the years with all the toxic messages we get about bodies.
These are the effects of our culture on our young girls:
- 34% of 5-year-old girls restrain their food intake
- 40% of girls between 5 and 9 years old wish they were thinner
- 33% of third grade girls report that they are afraid of becoming fat
- 28% of 5-year-old girls want their bodies to look like the women they see in movies and on TV
REAL SOLUTION
Our appearance-obsessed culture has caused our body image problems. We must come together, change this culture, and solve these problems.
SHIFTING CULTURAL BELIEFS
Cultural Belief:
“Focusing on our Body as an Ornament”
BE REAL Shift:
“Focusing on our Body as an Instrument for our Own Use”
Less focus on how we appear to others and more focus on what our bodies do for us.
Cultural Belief:
“Focusing on Body Measurements (BMI, Weight, Clothing Size)”
BE REAL Shift:
“Focusing on Healthy, Self-Care Behaviors”
It’s about the process of self-care, not the results.
Cultural Belief:
“Judging People
by their Appearance”
BE REAL Shift:
“Recognizing People Come in All Shapes and Sizes”
It’s about compassion, not comparison.
BE AWARE.
Education Advocacy
76% of kids who learned about body confidence felt more positive about themselves
BODY CONFIDENT KIDS:
- Are more likely to look after their bodies
- Are more likely to value health over appearance
- Have better general mental health
- Are more likely to participate both in the classroom and in activities outside of school
- Have improved chances of fulfilling their potential — particularly academically
BE AWARE.
Education Advocacy
76% of kids who learned about body confidence felt more positive about themselves
BODY CONFIDENT KIDS:
- Are more likely to look after their bodies
- Are more likely to value health over appearance
- Have better general mental health
- Are more likely to participate both in the classroom and in activities outside of school
- Have improved chances of fulfilling their potential — particularly academically
BE BOLD
Legislative Advocacy
BE REAL currently supports legislative policy initiatives endorsed by STRIPED, the eating disorder prevention incubator at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
