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Negative Body Image: A Danger For Adolescent Girls by phunminiyi(m): 4:13pm On Sep 29, 2016 |
Body image is an individual’s perception of his or her
own body. It involves what we think and how we feel
about our body, height, shape, size, and weight. It
can also mean how we think others see us. Body
image can either be positive or negative. According to
statistics, body image especially among females has
been largely negative. Befort and Rickard (2003)
stated that women look to others for evidence of their
competence more than did men, and therefore more
easily influenced by all types of feedback.
Negative Body Image
A negative body image is a distorted perception of the
whole or some parts of the body unlike they really
are. It is a personal conviction that one’s body size
or shape does not meet up to a standard. It involves
a feeling of awkwardness in one’s body.
Negative body image is characterized by irrational
believe of being too fat, intense fear of obesity and
weight gain, obsessive self scrutiny in mirror, thinking
degrading comments about one’s body, frequent
comparison of one’s body shape and size to other
people’s, etc.
According to a source, more than 90% of girls-15 to
17 years- want to change at least one aspect of their
physical appearance, with body weight ranking
highest.
However, some girls realize that they are thin but are
habitually haunted by certain parts of their body they
believe to be fat like the breasts, stomach, thighs,
and buttocks.
Causes of Negative Body Image
– Television programs, billboard advertisement,
magazine pictures, movies, and newspaper have in a
never-ending manner equated attractiveness,
happiness, love, competence, and even success to
having an ultraslim body. Many adolescents who wish
to achieve all these therefore set unrealistic body
standard for themselves.
– A comment from a well meaning friend or relative
suggesting that a person seems to be gaining weight
can result in having a negative image of the body
especially among those seeking social acceptance.
– Pressure of having to maintain a certain weight to
look attractive or competent on a job can also lead to
having both unrealistic and negative body image. For
example, this is predominant among receptionists,
waitresses, models, air hostesses, etc.
– Even children dolls often portray an extremely thin
and distorted body image. This can make children set
an unhealthy body standard for later years.
Many people are overly vulnerable to these influences
for genetic, psychological, and physical reasons and
may be more likely than others to develop unhealthy
behaviours.
Unhealthy Behaviours
Because of their intense fear of becoming fat resulting
from how they perceive their body, many adolescent
girls develop the following harmful behaviours:
– Obsession to be thin
– Helplessness in the presence of food
– Pretending to eat and lying about eating
– Leaving table immediately after eating so that they
can vomit
– Taking appetite suppressants
– Fasting and rigid dieting
– Excessive use of laxatives, diuretics or enemas
– Excessive exercise with weight loss goal
The above behaviours are characteristic symptoms of
some eating disorder like Anorexia nervosa, Bulimia
nervosa, etc. which can negatively affect health.
Health Consequences
Contrary to the general belief, people with negative
body image with its resultant unhealthy behaviour are
greatly susceptible to having a compromised
nutritional status and many health problems. These
include:
– Lowered body temperature and cold intolerance
caused by loss of fat insulation
– Slower metabolic rate as a result of decreased
synthesis of thyroid hormone
– Iron deficiency anemia from a deficient nutrient
intake
– Skin with many bruises because of the loss of
protection from fat layer normally present under the
skin
– Low white blood cell count caused by deficient
nutrient intake which increases the risk of infection.
-Low blood potassium caused by deficient nutrient
intake, loss of potassium from vomiting, use of some
types of diuretics. This increases the risk of heart
rhythmic disturbances
– Loss of menstrual period because of low body
weight and low body fat content.
– Eventual loss of teeth caused by acid erosion from
frequent vomiting
– Muscle tears and stress fractures in athletes
because of decreased bone and muscle mass
BOTTOM LINE: having a negative body image cannot
benefit anyone but can rather be at a cost that may
too expensive to pay, in terms of poor health, or even
death in some cases. It is therefore wise to have a
positive and realistic perspective our body image and
eat adequately to meet our energy and nutrients
need.
Reference
Befort , C.A. & Rickard, K.M. Sex Roles (2003) 49: 71.
COURTESY: OGEDENGBE Funminiyi Samuel
NUTRITION DYNASTY
www.funutdiet. |
Re: Negative Body Image: A Danger For Adolescent Girls by 007Nasky(m): 6:47pm On Sep 29, 2016 |
2 long plz summerize |
Re: Negative Body Image: A Danger For Adolescent Girls by PRISTINEMUSCLES: 12:10pm On Sep 30, 2016 |
This post is so informative. The trend of girls wanting to look a certain way is indeed disheartening. Forget what you see on billboards, magazines and the likes. Most of those girls go through cosmetic surgeries to look that way. It is good to have a healthy weight which can be achieved by careful selection of good and nutritous diets as well as exercising. But not going the deleterious line of taking weightloss pills, vomiting, taking of diuretics, starvation and the likes. If kim kardashian, nicki minaj, j-lo and most runway models tell you what they do to look that way, then you would know that it is not worth it. We men don't have much problems. Oya,lalasticlala come and move it to frontpage. |
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