Somewhere there is a girl who wakes up in the morning and avoids the mirror. Somewhere there is a boy who spends all of his time at the gym to try and look like his peers. Somewhere there is someone who steps on the scale and cries because despite all their hard work, it is not good enough. Teens have begun to ask for plastic surgery once they have come of age.
Body image is the way someone perceives their body and assumes it is how others perceive their body as well. Although it has been brought up a lot, negative body image is a problem many still struggle with today. Constant dieting for women has become the norm. And for what? Look around and media has the ideal body image plastered on pages of magazines, poster boards, television shows, and runways. As women strive to become the "perfect size"’ their goals have become unrealistic. What they are striving for is not a healthy weight but on average 13- 19 percent below healthy weight [Garner et al., 1980]. These unrealistic goals can lead to depression, helplessness, and potentially eating disorders. I think one of the saddest aspect of negative body image is that it can come into effect for girls as early as age 10. In an ongoing study by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute 40 percent of girls ages 9 -10 have already attempted to lose weight.
One way people attempt to lose weight is by calorie counting. If done properly and in a safe manner one can manage to try and maintain their specific weight by measuring their calorie consumption. However, others have abused the calorie counting system. Skipping meals, taking in only a couple hundred calories a day and finding ways to burn it off with exercise before the day is done. With most of those who abuse the calorie counting system being younger, I believe they do not fully understand that calories are a source of energy for your body and losing too much might make you skinnier, but it will also make you weaker. It will only hurt you. I know the feeling. You skip a couple meals here and there, you eat but you eat little portions of food with low calories, you fall in love with cardio and you see physical changes fast. In the morning you can look at yourself in the mirror and smile because you can see results and you are one step closer to your ideal body. The pounds just shed and you feel great. You check the scale a bunch of times during the day to reassure yourself that you are on track.
But one day you wake up, and maybe just maybe you want to have what everyone else is eating for a meal. What can it hurt? You shed all those pounds and one sandwich won’t do too much damage. You love your body and you even feel so happy. Later that day you step on the scale for the sixth time and you have gained all the weight you lost back. It was a waste of time, it was pointless. Body image will always be a problem. People will always be unsatisfied. I am not going to tell you not to diet, not to exercise, not to try and better yourself. What I will tell you is to go about it correctly. Instead of skipping meals, eat healthier, cut the junk food out of your diet. Try and only check the scale once a day. You want to work out? Go for it. A little exercise never hurt no body. You will see results if that is what you are looking for. It just might take a little longer. Some things take time, but if you want it enough it is worth the wait.
