Powerful Bodies
How Communication Holds a lot of Power Towards Our Bodies
She has only been on this earth for seven and a half months and her weight has already become a focal point of her life.
Sat at her highchair, she grabs at the roasted vegetables and chicken that are on offer. With a tight fist, she shoves it into her mouth, two teeth chewing it and some falling to the floor for the dog to eat.
People complain she is too heavy to be carried for long, they marvel at the size of her thighs. But a big baby is a healthy baby, right?
At what age does that weight need to come off and when does healthy switch to unhealthy?
By the age of 3, a child will know that skinny is good, and fat is bad.
Some children will show signs of dissatisfaction with their bodies by the age of 5.
This continues as children grow into adolescents, where 77% report body image distress. Then 91% of women say they want to be thinner.
Perception of body image can be influenced biologically, psychologically, or culturally and these are influences that are hard to change.
However, one thing that can be changed is how body image is communicated.
Executive Director of Body Confident Collective, Zali Yager, says family is thought to have the main influence on body image until kids are around 10, then it shifts over to peer influence and media influence which is no longer separated due to social media.
“We really believe that from very early on it is important to have a body confident home environment and we are encouraging parents not to say negative things about their own bodies and other people’s bodies and really accept their children and create a space for their kids to accept and embrace their own bodies,” Ms Yager said.
A child can pick up on the facial expressions a parent pulls when looking at themselves or the small comments they make about food.
This behaviour is transferred to the kid, and it may affect their perception of body image, or they might push it onto their peers.
The effects can be everlasting.
Research shows that people who have body dissatisfaction are 24 times more likely to develop depression, more likely to get anxiety.
And are more likely to develop eating disorders – which are serious psychological conditions with one of the highest mortality rates.
12% of Australian adolescent boys meet the criteria for eating disorders and body image was listed in the top 4 concerns for young women.
It is important to address body image issues, Alli Spotts-De Lazzer, a therapist that specialises in eating disorders says people may believe they are pursuing a better or healthy body, but they’ve actually developed an eating disorder.
“People typically want to fit in and feel valued and safe in the world… so it makes sense to me that people pursue beauty, believing it will reward them,” Ms Spots-De Lazzer said.
What can be done?
Body Confident Collective (BCC) is a research translation organisation that aims to get the best evidenced-based body image resources out to people and change communication in places such as schools, sporting clubs, retail and online.
“The evidence in showing is that we do need to get in at primary school age,” Ms Yager said.
BCC are working alongside organisations such as Body Image Movement and Butterfly Foundation to implement programs in schools throughout Australia.
An interview request was declined from the Body Image Movement as they are currently spending their time working on the Embrace Kids Film.
This film is targeted at grades five and six ages because, at that age, kids need help to prepare them for the changes that they are experiencing.
The film is also part of the Embrace Hub which can be found on the BCC website that contains several resources for young people, parents, teachers and more.
“The idea here is just to really get some creative and engaging but evidence-informed content out into the community to start conversations and inspire people to take action,” Ms Yager said.
For the children that have already passed the primary school age and are well into their developmental stages, BCC are working on implementing programs in grade seven and eight classrooms.
These programs will be released in 2023 nationally and teachers can sign up to get the resources that will help the students learn about positive body communication.
“I think once teachers go to the seminars and see the Embrace Kids Film, they will see the power of a positive approach to teaching about body acceptance and body appreciation,” Ms Yager said.
But, like anything there is resistance
Regardless of the impact body image has on children and their lives, there is no part of the school curriculum that teaches any form of body positivity.
Therefore, if this problem is to be addressed, schools and teachers have to go out of their way to connect with an organisation like BCC to gain the resources.
It is this secondary step that makes the issue less likely to be taught.
If these programs do become part of the school system like BCC aims, there is no guarantee that the teaching will get through to the children.
External factors play a big role.
The children may still experience negative body communication in their home environment which overpowers the teaching in school.
Or they are on social media.
Social media plays a massive role in influencing children on body image and beauty standards.
The people and content that someone follows have the power to influence their entire life and with photoshop and filters, it could all be a lie.
The rise in social media and influencers has the potential to be very dangerous if it is used negatively, however, that power is only there if they have a following.
It is important to choose wisely about whom you follow and what you consume as it may have a subconscious effect.
It is also important to understand the power of words, whether they are spoken or written, they have the power to create long-lasting effects.
Whether it's towards a baby or an adult the meaning may cause the same damage.
“[Success] for me is when we start to see some really powerful changes to the environments that affect these kids,” Ms Yager said.
