Taylor Call, a healthy 6-year-old, made headlines this week after asking her mother “Mommy, why is my tummy so fat?”…all because some girl in the bathroom asked her why she was fat. For the record, Taylor is not fat. In the “Good Morning America” segment, Taylor’s pediatrician weighed and took Taylor’s measurements, reporting that she has a healthy BMI, and is not overweight, nor is she at risk of becoming overweight.
So what gives? Why is a 6-year-old, who is not considered overweight, being called “fat” at school? It’s all about being thin, exercising, and eating right…at least that’s how it seems to impressionable, young children like Taylor and other kids her age. Kids today are bombarded with pressures to be thin, from media to their everyday surroundings. Of course there are all the TV shows glamorizing the thin and beautiful, and weight loss shows like Biggest Loser and Too Fat for 15 showing the dangers of becoming overweight. Then there are the airbrushed, skinny models and celebrities on the cover of every magazine. And worst of all, intentionally or not, are the parents and other adults kids see obsessing over the scale, constantly dieting and talking about their weight, and even those with simply poor eating habits.
Taylor went on to tell”Good Morning America” that she wants to lose weight. “I don’t like to be my weight and my teacher always tells me I have to run so I can be really, really not like this size,” she said.
Taylor Call isn’t alone. A 2009 study by the University of Central Florida found that nearly half of the 3- to 6-year-old participants studied said they worried about being fat. Meanwhile, the number of eating disorder hospitilzations for kids under age 12 more than doubled between 2000 and 2006, according to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA). Yes, there is an obesity epidemic in this country that needs to be resolved, but not in the hands of children. 3-year-olds worrying about being fat is absurd! This kind of mentality and poor body image doesn’t help our country’s weight problem, and instead can lead to eating disorders and weight gain down the road.
Adolescents all over the world feel the pressure to be thin. A recent survey by the UK charity, The Children’s Society, showed that children are most unhappy with their appearance, above confidence, school and family life, with almost one-third of young girls unhappy with their appearance.
Surveys carried out by Girlguiding UK and the Mental Health Foundation on girls aged 10 to 14 found that looking at pictures of models, pop stars and actresses made a fifth of the girls feel sad, two-fifths feel bad about themselves and over a tenth (12%) feel angry. Then of course there is the recent study in Taiwan that found 10% of boys vomit to lose weight…
So who’s to blame? Media? Parents? While the finger can’t be pointed at anyone in particular, it’s not hard to see how strong the media’s impact is on our society, and now children are becoming more and more a part of that. Models on the cover of magazines are airbrushed so thin, to the point of delivering unrealistic ideas of what people should look like. Nearly every actress on TV is thin, and the few who aren’t usually end up glamorized in headlines at some point for losing weight. By no means is anyone saying thin is bad, or more people should be overweight – we certainly have enough overweight and obese people in this country. It’s more a matter of how it’s all portrayed in our society, with impressionable young minds front and center!
Commercials and ads are just as bad, if not worse than TV programs. Sketchers’ Shape-Ups recently launched an ad campaign that clearly targets pre-teen, elementary school-aged girls, encouraging them to “shape up” with their toning shoes. It’s enough that children constantly have to see advertisements about losing weight, shaping up, or improving looks, let alone specifically targeting the ads at them! There are countless ads for losing weight with certain foods, and sometimes they go too far, too. A Yoplait commercial was recently pulled after the National Eating Disorders Association convinced General Mills to pull the campaign for sending a dangerous message that seemed to promote eating disorders. You might have seen the ad before it was pulled:
The slender woman looks with concern into the office refrigerator, staring down the enemy. “Oh, cheesecake,” she sighs to herself. And then the recrimination and self-doubt kick in. “OK. What if I had just a small slice? I was good today, I deserve it! Or, I could have a medium slice and some celery sticks and they would cancel each other out, right? Or, OK, I could have one large slice and jog in place as I eat it. Or, OK, how about one large slice while jogging in place followed by eight celery…” Fortunately, it’s at this point that her obsessive internal math is interrupted by an equally svelte colleague who coos, “Mmmm, raspberry cheesecake. I’ve been thinking about this all day.” Does she then pull out the cake and enjoy a slice? Don’t be silly – these are women we’re talking about here. No, she reaches for a cheesecake flavored Yoplait, prompting her colleague to admiringly note, “Wow, you’ve lost weight,” and grab her own carton of artificially sweetened yogurt. Whew. Crisis averted. Guess the men and fat chicks in the office can have that cheesecake now. (Salon)
That type of obsessive, dysfunctional thinking is a serious issue and a sign of an eating disorder. The idea that a woman should feel such anguish and guilt over eating a slice of cheesecake is not a healthy message to send to adults, teens,and especially not children. Thankfully, this ad was pulled, but there are plenty of others out there.
Media cannot take all the blame…parents are to blame, too. No parent tries to inflict a negative body image on their child, nor do they want to pass down poor eating habits or prejudices against the overweight or obese. Unfortunately, it happens far too often.
The “Good Morning America” segment featuring 6-year-old Taylor, also featured a panel of 5-8-year-olds who were asked a few questions. One little girl said she had overheard her mother talking about wanting to go to the gym because she was overweight, even though she didn’t think her mom was overweight at all. Another girl said her teacher wouldn’t eat birthday cake at a celebration because she was still on a diet.
Kids pick up everything. They are always watching, listening, and learning new behaviors modeled after adults. Kelly Valen, author of “Twisted Sisterhood”, surveyed over 3,000 women from all walks of life throughout the United States on their relationships and feelings toward other women. A full 98 percent of the respondents agreed that mothers influence their daughter’s behaviors. Even something as simple as a parent avoiding birthday cake and saying it’s because he/she is on a diet, or talking about dieting or working out to avoid getting fat, are all things that kids pick up on and model.
Does it mean you have to eat everything in sight and you can never be on a diet again? No, but clearly there is a strong influence between parents’ behavior and the actions of children. You want to instill healthy eating habits in your children, not turn them into the Yoplait lady! Avoid talking about diets and losing weight, and definitely don’t make negative body-image comments about yourself or others! Have a healthy self-image of yourself so that you can create one in your child, too. Focusing on a child’s sense of self and not how they look, can help lay a critical foundation for avoiding child eating disorders and setting the stage for positive body image.
Sit down for a family dinner. A study by the University of Minnesota, published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, which found that adolescents who eat with their families grow up to be healthier adults who eat more fruit, dark-green and orange vegetables and key nutrients. Girls who participate in more family meals are more likely to eat breakfast as adults. Boys are more likely to consume more calcium, magnesium, potassium and other fiber when they grow up.
If you suspect your child has an eating disorder or want to learn more about eating disorders, visit the National Eating Disorders Association.
