Luz Hernandez

Professor Paul Robert

HLTH-1020

March 30, 2019

Body Image

Body image is how someone looks at themselves. It’s how they see their body and how

others and media see their body. There are members of both parties, male and female, who are

going through this part in their lives. For females, the media has labeled the “ideal body” as

having larger breasts, wide hips, and a small and flat stomach. This “barbie” body has been

drawn over the years and is also constantly changing from generation to generation. The male

“ideal body” also faces issues. Males are told that having wide shoulders, pecs, and a masculine

figure as attractive. There are however exceptions to both depending on various social aspects.

According to the University of Michigan’s University Health Service department, there

are social changes in their lives that could lead to body image changes. Eating disorders are a

very serious issue that affect body image. Some may suffer from eating disorders in order to

achieve this ideal female body figure by depriving their body of nutrients in order to look better.

Stress is also a factor and puts people to put their emotional health above their physical health.

They may prioritize feeling better mentally instead of feeling better physically. (Michigan)

The body building community has also played a big role in putting a body that people

desire to have. Big name body builders such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dwayne Johnson

have painted men as being physically “attractive” and the body that women desire to have. They

use supplements in order to increase their physical appearance to help them reach their desired

physical goals. Supplements such as protein powder, pre-workouts, creatine, and others just to
name a few are being taken by body builders because they’re told they can provide them with

quick results to reach their body goals. I’m not trying to disagree with this lifestyle but people

who are trying to make their body image better may take these supplements because they might

believe they will get a quick fix to make them feel better about how they look.

According to TeensHealth, we should help encourage adolescents to accept their body

and understand that everyone has different genes and physical traits that make us all unique. We

shouldn’t strive to look like another athlete but instead shoot to become the healthiest and

happiest person we can be both physically and mentally. Nobody is perfect and they should

encourage them to treat their peers with respect and not body shame anyone. If someone does

want a better-looking body they should be told and encouraged to appreciate their body by eating

healthier foods, get better sleep every night, become more active and not worry as much about

maintaining a healthy weight, but a healthy lifestyle. EatingDisorderHope.com says that these

issues that are seen and developed during early childhood. They can evolve and develop into

negative more negative things as you get older and continue to form as they receive life feedback

from peers, family, friends, neighbors, ect. (EatingDisorderHope)

Signs and symptoms that should be seen are being envious of a body of someone they

know or someone they see in the media. Other sign is being obsessed in looking at the bad things

when looking in a mirror. These obsessions can also lead to long term impacts in their lives. In

my opinion another issue that could negatively contribute to body image could be when a child

begins to grow up and hit puberty. Men will begin to grow hair and get deeper voices but are

things that are usually hidden until they become older. But what about physically? They may

develop larger chests, thicker legs and overall larger bodies. Women on the other hand will begin

growing their hips and developing larger breasts. These might be seen as scary for some if they
develop sooner than some of their peers and could result in them looking as if they’re getting fat.

Others could also look at their peers going through puberty earlier than them and feel back and

worried because that is the age when children begin growing stronger levels of physical and

emotional attractions towards others in their age groups. When seeing their peers begin to

develop bodies, they may fall into the category of body shaming and feel negative thoughts and

emotions believing that others might not find them attractive. Children should be encouraged at

young ages that it’s okay to be different and that some people will develop bodies earlier and

some later than others.

Eating disorders aren’t the only thing that could be a topic in body image. Companies are

regularly promoting and marketing their food products as being less fat, less calories, or tell

people they can drop pounds quick by sticking to diets. Even new diets such as the ketosis diet

are a growing fad that encourage people to drastically change their lifestyle in the hope that their

body will magically transform quickly in a small period of time. The keto diet is when you intake

high fats such as eggs, avocados, cheese, and meat proteins while having small amounts of

carbohydrates such as break, rice, or plant based foods. The idea behind this growing diet trend

is that the body will enter a state of ketosis and force the body to begin using stored fats as

energy instead of glucose. There are regular side symptoms such as headaches, weakness, and

nausea. This term has been called the “keto flu” due to their side effects. Again, as mentioned

before, people are willing to put their bodies through this type of pain in order to help them lose

the “unattractive” fat in their bodies and build the much more physically attractive “muscle” in

their bodies. So why is having a high percentage of body fat seen as being unhealthy?

EatingDisorderHope going into detail about questioning this topic. In the article, “Is Obesity

Really a Problem? Two Decades of Questionable Treatment” they go into detail with this topic.
They mention the well-known topic that being skinny and fit doesn’t mean the person is healthy.

They are two different things. But if you were to compare a skinny smoker who eats nothing but

junk food next to an obese overweight individual suffering from some form of medical issue

most people may say the skinny person is healthier due to their size alone. A study showed that

people who were overweight and exercised more had a smaller chance of death compared to a

skinnier and “normal weight” person who did not exercise often.

There is a term called food pushers who are the ones who are always paying attention to

the details of how much they have or have not eaten. Food pushers are people who encourage

them to try various types of foods or just have small bites of food. These individuals can affect

people who are facing eating disorders as they are trying to avoid eating more food or those who

are more overweight and want to reduce their weight. It is important for those who have food

pushers in their life to understand that they are not intentional and trying to encourage them to

eat more when facing the eating disorder. It’s also important to stay focused on the progress and

recovery. (EatingDisorderHope)

Some other body image ideas and how they affect a person’s mentality and thinking can

include when a woman becomes pregnant. It’s obvious that when a woman becomes pregnant

that she will begin gaining weight. Some women may become uncomfortable and worried that

their partner’s might not find them attractive anymore due to the weight gain caused from the

pregnancy. These changes are normal and shouldn’t put the women in a position where they feel

as though they should reduce their nutrition intake as it could harm the child. A woman should

feel comfortable before, during and after the pregnancy and the child may be going to be fed

through breastfeeding and need to woman to remain healthy in order for the child to get the

nutrition needed at those early ages.

 There are many women who want to have they body back after being pregnant. It takes

time to revert back to the state their bodies were in because of the hormone changes caused by

the pregnancy. According to WomensHealth.gov, “Breastfeeding as much as possible after

childbirth will help produce a hormone oxytocin.” They say this hormone will help make the

uterus shrink to the smaller size they had before. The mother should remain patient and

consistent in order to get the body back that makes them emotionally happy again and learn to

accept their bodies that they have.

As people get older, cholesterol begins to change in their lives and could also affect their

body image. As people get older sometimes their cholesterol slows down and they burn calories

and energy a lot slower than when they were younger. This could lead to an increase in weight

and changes to their body. In addition to that, they will begin developing wrinkly skin, gray or

receding hairlines to name a few. Most importantly all people should remember that these

changes in our bodies are expected and normal. A body is always changing and we should be

encouraged to love our bodies at different points of our lives. It’s much better to feel better and

live a healthy life that to worry about how our bodies are viewed by our peers and other members

of society.

https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/body-image.html

https://uhs.umich.edu/bodyimage

https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/information/body-image

https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/information/eating-disorder/are-health-risks-of-obesity-

overstated
https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/information/body-image/dealing-with-food-pushers-

during-the-holidays-and-new-year

https://www.womenshealth.gov/mental-health/body-image-and-mental-health