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Girls as young as 7 suffering from anorexia
Filed under: Big Kids, Tweens, Nutrition: Health, Development/Milestones: Babies, Media
Although it is not the norm, there have been a number of instances where girls as young as seven years-old suffer from anorexia. One such hospital that treats children with the disorder is Great Ormond Street, the famous children's hospital in central London. The recent ban on ultra skinny models during Madrid's and London's Fashion Weeks has brought to light the effects of the media on young women and girls. Although it would be over simplifying the matter to blame the eating disorders of the very young on media images of super thin models, the long, thin body type held as ideal by most societies does take its toll on women of all ages. "If social values celebrate excessive thinness and if you see highly paid models who are perceived as beautiful, then people are going to think maybe that's the way to get fame and success," commented Dr Goldin, a consultant child psychiatrist at the Great Osmond Street hospital.
Other factors that influence young girls and women include the desire to be perfect, the onset of puberty, the mother's values and her own body image. Peer pressure also makes an impact on girls. My daughter, who is nine years-old and extremely thin and tall for her age, hears time and again from friends, peers and strangers about how gorgeous her body is. I bristle every time this happens because I do not want that image to be the part of her that matters most in her mind. I want her to feel good about her academic achievements and her athletic abilities.
Body image is a subject that will never go away. While there are certain segments of society that might be willing to embrace different body types, there will always be those who desire what has long been impressed upon us as ideal. It is sad and unfortunate, but true. I believe the best we can as parents is to revel in the size and shape that we are and to teach our children that it is okay to be that size.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
9-22-2006 @ 3:32AM
Lisa said...I agree with your comments. Boosting your kids' self-confidence and SHOWING them affection and love are the most important things... there are too many other images barraging them that make them feel insufficient.
I live in L.A. and people here, in fact, understand this - but are too busy to take the time to be ultra-attentive and support for their children. Time is the key!
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9-22-2006 @ 2:10PM
Sharon said..."I believe the best we can as parents is to revel in the size and shape that we are and to teach our children that it is okay to be that size."
Heather, very well said.
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9-22-2006 @ 10:34PM
VL said...So are skinny kids going to be the next ones who feel inadequate? I have been a rail my whole life and I get so sick of people asking me if I have eating disorders or how much I eat or do I work out a lot. No, a lot, and no!
I don't think there should be any ONE standard of beauty like there is currently, but banning certain clothing sizes from advertising is too extreme. There should be runway models of all sizes, from 0-100, in proportion with the population. No one should be left out and made to feel that they are abnormal or ugly.
If there was an outright ban on obese models on the runway, we would all be outraged, and rightfully so, and I don't imagine it's much healthier to be obese than it is to be anorexic.
What if your daughter is skinny her whole life, and feels terrible about it because it's no longer considered attractive to be a size 6? (Which is not excessively skinny!) Let's revel in ALL shapes and sizes, truly.
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9-23-2006 @ 10:28PM
Jen said...I would like to put forth that in addition to the suggestions you have made, we also need to talk to our children about the ways in which dieting and weight loss are sold to us as ways to make us happy. I feel that ads depicting ultra-skinny people are only part of the problem. There is a definite diet culture in a lot of the world and too many kids are growing up thinking that dieting is just 'something women do' and associate it with being grown up.
VL--I have been skinny all of my life, both through genetics and an eating disorder (the difference between 85 lbs and 109.) I completely agree that coming down on skinny women is wrong and does nothing to solve the problem. It hurts like hell to have recovered from an ED and still have people ask if I'm eating or what I do to keep so trim. However, I don't have a problem with runway models being a certain size as long as they are a) not clinically underweight and b) as long as all kids, male and female, understand that they are chosen because they are a certain build, like basketball players or gymnasts or defensive ends. I'm far more concerned with little kids learning about 'fat pants' from Jenny Craig ads than runway models. The whole labelling models as disgusting or unfeminine because they are thin, though? That's completely out of line.
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9-24-2006 @ 9:07AM
VL said...I agree Jen. Runway models are a blip on the radar. Last year Oprah did a show on anorexia in young girls. But she also lost about 50 pounds in one year, getting way too skinny for her body type, and it seems like every other day she runs a show on losing wieght! Mixed messages are everywhere. No wonder kids are so confused.
As mentuioned in the original post, I definitly think mother's body image is a huge factor in their own daughters' self esteem. (I know, I know- just one more thing we need to feel guilty about!) Even when I am feeling bad about myself, I never say "Do I look fat in this?" or "I look terrible today" in front of my kids, and when I get a compliment I graciously accept it, even if I don't agree. Like everything else, change starts in home and good modeling by parents and other loving adults goes a long way. No pun intended lol!
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