A new study finds that a young girl’s happiness is directly linked to her weight by the age of 10. If you are holding out hope that the healthier the weight, the happier the child, make sure to feed your unicorn a carrot for me in your Perfect World.
According to TIME.com, a study published in the journal BMC Public Health shows children as young as 10 and 11 are already feeling the pressure to have the ideal body. In an analysis of more than 4,000 students from Nova Scotia, results showed that a young girl’s happiness with their body image is directly linked to how thin she is.
Boys, of course thankfully, were happiest to be in the middle: neither too heavy or too thin. Good job, guys. Keep it up.
Shocked? You shouldn’t be.
While the age is unsettling, these results are not surprising. Blame whoever you want: TV, movies, celebs, whoever, but of course young girls feel that thinner is prettier; they are being raised by adults that think the same thing.
I dare you to try and find a woman’s magazine that does not have at least one weight loss article in it. Any magazine, no matter what the focus: fashion, tabloid, health, hobby, general interest contain at least one headline telling you to lose weight. These “lose 10 pounds in 2 days articles” don’t come with a disclaimer. They don’t say “this article may not apply to you if you are of a healthy weight.” Nope. We women open these magazines and feel they are speaking directly to us. Everyone needs this article because every single one of you should want to lose weight, no matter what your size. You are not good enough as you are.
How often does your young girl see you hop on the scale? Put yourself down? Hear you complain about your thighs/arms/stomach/new diet/new skinny bitch in your office all the guys can’t stop staring at? We are grooming these girls to interchange thin with happy, and send them the message that you can never be thin enough. No wonder they aren’t happy with themselves.
For every single-unit increase in BMI measurement, there was a corresponding 8% increase in body dissatisfaction. Those are concrete numbers: you can actually gauge the probable level of your young daughter’s body dissatisfaction.
What are your going to do to turn that into an 8% increase in loving herself?
