IDEA
Press Release - Foster
Healthy Body Image In Your Child
 Back to 2003 Press Releases
San
Diego – Are you concerned that your child may be at risk of
developing an eating disorder? Unfortunately, many children today are
“wasting their minds minding their waists,” says Jessica Setnick, MS,
RD, LD, a Dallas-based dietitian who specializes in young clients with
eating disorders. At a national meeting of the American Dietetic Association
(ADA), she explained that parents can help their children develop healthy
eating behaviors and a positive body image. To promote a healthy body
image in your child, use the tips below, adapted from Setnick’s advice
to professionals.* With this information you can counter misconceptions
about eating and body image and help your child understand that food
is fuel for the body and not a solution to emotional issues.
1. Recognize the Danger. According to the National
Association of Anorexia and Associated Disorders, about 7 million women
and 1 million men in the United States suffer from eating disorders.
The vast majority of these people say their disorder had started by
the time they were 20. Between 0.5 and 1 percent of teenage girls develop
anorexia nervosa, and 5 percent of older adolescent girls and young
adult women develop bulimia nervosa.(1) Even more common than these
full-fledged eating disorders is disordered eating—not as extreme, but
still a threat to normal growth and development.
2.
Separate Food From Feelings. Eating disorders are not about
food, says psychotherapist Abigail H. Natenshon, MA, LCSW, BCD, who
has specialized in treating these disorders for 31 years and is the
author of When Your Child Has an Eating Disorder, A Step-by-Step Workbook
for Parents and Other Caregivers. “[Eating disorders] are about the
individual’s misuse of food to solve emotional problems.” Any time your
child asks about weight loss, consider what might be going on below
the surface. Respond carefully. Also, understand that weight loss is
not going to give your child a personality transplant or bring about
any other unrealistic changes!
3.
Discourage Dieting. In one study of 9th to 12th graders, 60
percent of girls and 23 percent of boys reported trying to lose weight;
8 percent of the girls and 2 percent of the boys admitted using diet
pills.1 Let your child know that even short-term diets can lead to disordered
eating. Explain that maintaining a healthy weight is a lifelong process
and any weight that takes a superhuman effort to maintain is probably
not a healthy weight. Serve as a role model yourself by conveying a
balanced attitude toward food and by not dieting.
4.
Legalize All Foods. Never suggest that any specific food is “bad
for you.” Be objective and teach that all foods provide nutrition, although
some provide more than others. Setnick suggests adopting this attitude:
“The only foods that are ‘bad’ are foods that are moldy or spoiled . .
. or that you are allergic to.”
5.
Educate and Empower Your Child. Every time you interact with
your child, you have the opportunity to provide him or her with a positive
or negative experience. Children are surrounded daily by messages that
their bodies are not good enough. Tell your child the opposite—and don’t
talk negatively about your own body either. (For Natenshon’s suggestions
on how to instill body pride in a child, see www .empoweredparents.com.)
5.
Get Help for Your Child. If you are concerned that your child
may be developing an eating disorder, seek help from a registered dietitian
or a counselor who specializes in this area.
IDEA is
the world's leading membership organization of health and fitness professionals
with more than 23,000 members in over 80 countries. Since 1982, IDEA
has provided health and fitness professionals with pertinent information,
educational opportunities, career development programs and industry
leadership while helping them enhance the quality of life worldwide
through safe, effective fitness and healthy lifestyle programs. For
more information on IDEA events, publications, educational products,
member services or other activities, visit the IDEA website at: www.IDEAfit.com.
|
