Is it me or do a lot of young folks here have a really negative body image?

this is very disturbing but it is a product of growing up with the media so hot and heavy for celebs and their "perfection." its a hard thing to battle with when its been ingrained into your head your entire life that you should look like "this" in order to be happy with yourself. what concerns me more is the methods some of these people insist on using to lose that weight that are more harmful to their health than anything else.

Good question and yes I find it appauling and scary.

Loosing wieght does not change y our body shape either.

Good health and fittness are atractive not being skin and bones. Besides which, it is very true that beauty...real beauty is something intangeble that comes from with in and is expressed through daily living.

I am lightly over wieght and am loosing slow but steady because I found I had low seretonin and started taking enterra coated 5-HTP. Now I only feel the need to eat when I am actually hungry. It seems to help me differentiat between true hunger and other catelysts.

Be healthy everyone, take care!

Peace!

I find it disturbing. And I know that this is an answer given all the time, but I think it's the media's fault. And if it's such a common answer, then it must be at least partially true. Most models starve themselves to be deathly skinny. You hear about celebrities being brought to hospitals because of eating issues. The media stresses how all these famous people are so beautiful, with 'who's hot' lists and magazines, and it just so happens that the majority of them are skinny. I think the goal of losing weight should not be just to lose weight, but to get into a healthier life style, not a skinnier one. Skinny people aren't always healthy. And I guess one of the motives that 'drive' people to want to lose weight is they think it will make them feel better about their bodies. Maybe they think other people will find them more visually appealing. I think the way you feel about yourself can sometimes influence the way others see you. And I know it's easy to say that 'you should be happy with yourself just the way you are', but it's not so easy to actually feel that way.

I believe a lot of things influence they way young people see themselves. TV, movies, ads, Internet, but also at home. Parents need to tell our children continuously that they are beautiful NO MATTER WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE. Build self confidence so thick and so strong no one can knock it down. Make sure they see websites that show how modeling photo's are altered and that no one is perfect. We need to watch out for each other. Friends, mothers, daughter, and teachers need to keep an eye out for problems and people who need someone to talk to. Body image seems to be everything and it shouldn't be. Unless we ban together and stop this it will only get worse.

I think that society and Hollywood has placed so much emphasis on being "rail thin" that young girls think that weighing over 100 lbs is "fat". Everything in the media focuses on appearance. How many advertisers have skinny attractive women pushing their product? Almost 99% is what I would guess. I get really tired of watching TV only to see commercials with skinny big breasted women (with the camera focused on their cleavage) selling men's products!! Luckily my husband is attracted to curvy women, that's why he thinks I'm sexy!! I like to look and feel healthy. That's what's important to me. Not what other people think!!

I think many of those may be "possible health problems", but I know I used to want to be thin, but didn't do anything about it.

And I never thought pounds/kg were a good way to measure a body...I've always been in the range but rather chubby.

Absolutely! Most young people I speak to or hear from have terribly negative body image. Too fat, too thin, too tall, too short, weird shape, small boobs, big feet - you name it they moan about it. With most it is merely a phase of adolescence which most people go through but with some it can lead to lifelong eating/food relationship disorders. It is usually the case that when the teenage years depart so do our feelings are insecurity about our bodies and our selves as a whole.

we just see all the models and how they look and we want to look as good or better than them.

SOME LOVES TO BE PETITE.

idk i like being 140