Girls As Young As Six Are Dieting Due To Worries Over Body Image, Eye-Opening Report Finds

Girls As Young As Six Are Dieting Over Body Image Fears
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Back in the day, our six-year-old worries were usually centred around what we were having for tea, who our best friend was or how long we could play out in the garden after school.

But now a shocking report has revealed that girls as young as six are dieting due to body image fears.

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The study, which was conducted by Leeds Beckett University, found that children as young as six and seven years old (Year 2 in the UK school system) are suffering dissatisfaction with their body shape.

The research looked at the association of psychological wellbeing, including dieting behaviours and body image perception, as well as BMI in 301 primary school children from Year 2 and Year 4.

It found that girls had higher body shape dissatisfaction scores and had a higher desire to be thinner than boys.

Children who were categorised as overweight also had higher body shape dissatisfaction scores on average than "normal weight" children and were more likely to diet.

Surprisingly, younger children aged six and seven were also more likely to diet than their older peers aged eight and nine.

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How To Teach Positive Body Image
#1(01 of10)
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I kept superficial comments about looks on the low down -- theirs, mine and other peoples. Looking well-kempt and co-ordinated was noticed rather than looking beautiful. (credit:Getty)
#2(02 of10)
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I didn’t ban Barbies or princesses, but I added to the mix some real proportioned dolls. Check out Lottie Dolls or Lammily. (credit:Getty)
#3(03 of10)
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Story time included books like The Paper Bag Princess or anything recommended on the Amelia Bloomer Project created by the Feminist Task Force of the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association.A Mighty Girl is another great site. It's tag line is: the world's largest collection of books, toys and movies for smart, confident, and courageous girls. (credit:Getty)
#4(04 of10)
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I made sure my children understood the word diet meant the food you eat. A monkey at the zoo has a diet and so does an athlete. Diet doesn’t mean losing weight.We all have to watch our diet to be healthy. We need to be in a healthy weight range as recommended by our doctors, not our peers or magazines. (credit:Getty)
#5(05 of10)
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As puberty approached I discussed genetics, hormones and the challenges that I faced, as had my mother before me. (credit:Getty)
#6(06 of10)
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My girls used their allowance to buy "J-14" and "Tiger Beat" magazines, but I would give them a subscription to "New Moon" as my Christmas gift. Also check out "Shameless" magazine. (credit:Getty)
#7(07 of10)
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We discussed how the human form comes in all shapes and sizes. Check out Queen Latifah and Beyonce. They are both proud women who embrace their shape and size. (credit:Getty)
#8(08 of10)
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When their bodies blossomed we looked online at what REAL breasts look like. Reality is very different from the porn sites or fashion magazines. (credit:Getty)
#9(09 of10)
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I educated my daughters about how models are Photoshopped by watching and discussing the Dove Self-Esteem campaign. (credit:Getty)
#10(10 of10)
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As they entered into high school we discussed friends who were developing eating disorders and who followed fads such as “pro-ana”, “thigh gap” and “thinspiration.”We talked about the political power to create change, as demonstrated by some magazines and organizations in the fashion industry that banned size zero models from the runway after several deaths of severely underweight models. (credit:Getty)

Professor Sahota, who led the study, concluded: “The results suggested that body shape dissatisfaction and dietary restraint behaviours may begin in children as young as six and seven years old, and there is an association with increased BMI."

"Obesity prevention programmes need to consider psychological wellbeing and ensure that it is not compromised.

"Further research should be conducted on how interventions can help improve psychological wellbeing in this age group.”

Meaghan Christian, who co-authored the study, said: "I think this shows that children are picking up on body image problems at a younger age than ever before. It is not something you’d want six year olds to be worried about."

A spokesperson from eating disorder charity Beat added: "Throwaway comments can have a lasting effect and we should challenge ourselves not to make negative comments about shape, size and avoid conversations around dieting within earshot of our children."