Body Image and Eating Disorders

Body image is how you see yourself in your mind and how you feel about your body, including your size and shape. It is not only how you feel ABOUT your body, but also how you feel IN your body. While a positive body image often supports greater confidence in one’s self, a negative body image can be damaging to one’s confidence level and lower a person’s self-esteem. The National Eating Disorders Association provides examples of positive and negative body image:

Positive body image is…

• A clear, true perception of personal shape—persons see the parts of their body as belonging to their whole self, as they really are.
• One who celebrates and appreciates their natural body shape.
• One who understands that a person’s physical appearance says very little about their character and value as a person.
• A person who is accepting of their unique body and refuses to spend an unreasonable amount of time worrying about food, weight, and calories.
• One who is comfortable and confident about their body.

Negative body image is…

• A distorted perception of body shape; persons perceive parts of the body unlike they really are and focus on specific parts, rather than the whole.
• One who is convinced that only other people are attractive and that their body size or shape is a sign of personal failure.
• One who feels ashamed, self-conscious, and anxious about their body.
• One who is uncomfortable and awkward in their body.

Media messages have a powerful impact on what our culture defines as beautiful. The “thin is in” message that is portrayed in media images has pressured many people to feel that they must conform to one ideal body image. When it becomes impossible to achieve this unrealistic goal, many people feel body dissatisfaction. People with a negative body image are more likely to become obsessed with weight loss and develop an eating disorder. In addition, they are also likely to suffer from depression, isolation, and low self-esteem.

Eating disorders are complex conditions that arise from a combination of long-standing behavioral, emotional, psychological, interpersonal, and social factors.¹ Although eating disorders often appear as a preoccupation with food and weight, they often involve much more. People with eating disorders often use the control of food as a way to cope with painful emotions and feel in control of their life. However, the use of dieting, bingeing and/or purging as a coping behavior only damages a person’s physical and emotional health, and results in even lower self-esteem.

It’s unlikely that the media will soon begin presenting diverse and realistic images of people that create positive messages about health. What is important is to recognize the false perceptions media images create and separate those images from our own self –concept; our goal should be to respect our natural shape and replace negative thoughts and feelings with positive, accepting ones.

If you or someone you care about may have a body image issue or an eating disorder, please call the ARC Wellness department at (619) 594-1800. To speak with a Registered Dietitian at SDSU, please call the Health Promotion Department at (619) 594-4133. The ARC Wellness department is a joint program of Associated Students and Student Health Services.

Contributed by Norma Jean Flood, MS, RD

¹2005 National Eating Disorders Association

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