A cross-party group of UK Members of Parliament says body image lessons should be mandatory in schools to help kids deal with the pressure to conform to the unrealistic body ideals that the media, advertising, and celebrity culture bombards people with every day.
A little girl of 6 asks her father, “Daddy, do I look fat?” A 15-year-old boy risks damaging his liver and kidneys by regularly taking steroids to boost his abs and pecs. A 12-year-old girl dreads going to school every day and determines never to put her hand up in class for fear of drawing attention to her looks.
Unfortunately these not uncommon examples are just some of the symptoms “that show body image pressure in our society has got out of hand,” says Jo Swanson MP, and Chair of an All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) that on Wednesday released a report proposing wide-ranging recommendations for government, industry, voluntary groups and individuals.
Dissatisfaction with body image in the UK has never been higher, particularly among young people, says the 80-page report. The document, titled “Reflections on Body Image”, covers growing up (the focus of this article), and two other areas, “mis-sold ideal”, and health.
It follows a lengthy inquiry that investigated the causes and consequences of body image anxiety in the UK. The APPG, established in May 2011, heard evidence from hundreds of people, including academics, health professionals, teachers, and members of the public.
Body image dissatisfaction undermines self-confidence, contributes to depression, and results in a number of physical, emotional and societal problems. Promoting positive body image is fundamental to addressing some of the social and public health problems facing young people, says the report.
The inquiry heard evidence that around half of girls and up to a third of boys have dieted to lose weight. It heard that children and young people dissatisfied with their bodies are less likely to take part in learning at school, and over half of bullying is targeted at appearance.
The report concludes:
“Positive body image was identified as an important element of emotional wellbeing, and there is a need to equip both children and young people, and important gatekeepers such as parents and teachers with the tools to deal with the social and cultural pressures to conform to unrealistic beauty ideals”.
The inquiry heard that a number of schools are already tackling this issue, with programmes ranging from psycho-educational and media literacy, to social skills and cognitive dissonance.
However, the report says while there is clearly a need to develop programmes that help children and young people to learn how to challenge unrealistic body ideals and talk about their experience in a safe environment, there is not enough evidence that this actually works.
Some witnesses that gave evidence to the inquiry feared that while many initiatives are well-meant, delivering schemes that are not evidence-based could cause more harm than good.
Professor Glenn Waller, Clinical Psychologist, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, said there was little evidence to support the effectiveness of self-esteem programmes. A recent study, for example, suggested that while girls clearly understood media literacy, that understanding did not transfer to how they addressed their own bodies.
So on top of the recommendation for mandatory lessons in schools, the report proposes one for establishing a standard for evaluating and monitoring organizations that develop such programmes.
Cognitive dissonance programmes struck the inquiry as being among those with strong evidence of reducing body dissatisfaction.
Dissonance-based interventions (DBIs) are based on the idea of teaching people to act in a way that is contrary to their attitudes. For instance, encouraging young women to speak out and articulate comments against the unrealistic ideals of female beauty, prevents internalization of beauty ideals, and eventually the attitude shifts to close the gap between it and action, resulting in reduced body image dissatisfaction.
The inquiry heard that the Succeed Foundation, an eating disorders charity, is currently evaluating how effectively a DBI initiative manages to reduce body dissatisfaction among boys and girls in secondary schools.
Social skills training is another type of initiative that studies have suggested can lead to a reduction in the importance people place on hurtful peer remarks. One of the defusing skills is called “fogging”, where for instance, in response to the remark “Oi, fatty!” the response you learn is “And your point is …?”
Secondary schoolchildren report feeling better about themselves after learning social skills in how to defuse teasing and bullying aimed at their appearance.
The report also calls for: OFSTED school inspections to cover body image initiatives; more opportunities for teacher training in body image; and for schools to involve young people in the design of physical activities.
The report was developed with support from the health charity Central YMCA.
Written by Catharine Paddock PhD