Protecting Body Image for Young Women

Above is a note or post I found from a social media account I had when I was a young woman in secondary school. It is evident that growing up as a young woman filled with diet culture and pressure in order to fit body ideals has implications for how we feel about the way we look and our worth. Desperately seeking to be smaller and shrink physically and metaphorically. Unfortunately, this is what I went through up until my mid-twenties, as many young women do.

As young women, our bodies are physically changing due to hormone levels at the start of menstruation. Scientifically and biologically, women carry more body fat around their hips and thighs than men. This can be more evident as we start puberty and increase our fixation on external appearance. This can then affect the relationship we have with our bodies. Resulting in negative perspectives around food and exercise.

In one study of young girls aged between 13 and 17 years, nearly 50% reported a desire to be as skinny as the models they viewed in fashion magazines and reported that these magazines gave them a body to strive for.

There are many studies to show that this is an ever-growing problem. Now we face body ideals from TikTok, Instagram, and other social media platforms. However, the media isn’t always to blame. There are many aspects that can affect the body image of young women. Such as the environment or they’re echo chamber, previous dieting history, extreme goal setting, the need to seek external validation, and the lack of education surrounding body image.

There needs to be more education surrounding this for young women in order for them to avoid low self-esteem as they grow, or worse, undertaking extreme protocols to achieve a desired physique that they think will make them worthy and happy.

We need to educate young women that bodies will fluctuate, that social media isn’t reality, and that there are no body "ideals." Educating young women on how training can empower you and leave you with higher self-esteem and more confidence. It is scientifically proven that when we train for enjoyment, intrinsic motivation, or to learn a new skill, it aids in improving our relationship with our bodies. As well as our mind-to-body connection.

Finding this message, I looked and reflected on how far I have truly progressed in my own journey. My body composition has changed as a byproduct of changing my perspective on nutrition and training throughout the years. But ultimately, my body image as a whole has improved.

Training to be strong and fuelling myself in a healthy way has improved this massively over the years. Training for performance and to learn new skills has ultimately shifted the focus elsewhere. I believe this was the pivotal moment in changing my relationship with exercise, food, and the way I approached achieving goals. This is what we need to be teaching young women.

References:

The Flourishing Society

https://breakbingeeating.com/body-image-statistics/ Dr. Jake Linardon 2023

Martin Ginis, K. A., McEwan, D., Josse, A. R., & Phillips, S. M. (2012, June). Body image change in obese and overweight women enrolled in a weight-loss intervention: The importance of perceived versus actual physical changes. Body Image, 9(3), 311–317. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2012.04.002

Kearney‐Cooke, A., & Tieger, D. (2015, April 30). Body Image Disturbance and the Development of Eating Disorders. The Wiley Handbook of Eating Disorders, 283–296. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118574089.ch22