Am I Fat?

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Body Image. A dreadfully slippery slope among our teens and tweens today. Whether they are boys or girls, slim or heavy, tall or short, sedentary or athletic all children wonder if they measure up to the increasingly impossible standard put forth by the avalanche of mixed messages they are inundated with on a moment-to-moment basis by every media source imaginable.

If one of my daughters is questioning her body image (or I notice that she's been eating really badly) I utilize the sane approach of coming from a place of health. I tell her that eating better will help to make her feel better. Too much sugar from candy, ice cream and processed food like mac 'n cheese will come back to bite her when her resulting insulin spike drops sharply making her hungry and irritable. Eating too much sugar and/or complex carbohydrates will only trick your body into thinking your hungry sooner that normal, too. Additionally, eating foods that make you gain weight will only contribute to poor health later in life; bad joints, clogged arteries and heart attacks. Filling your child's toolbox with the tools necessary to make good choices about food is far better than nagging them about their eating habits and (God forbid!) about their weight. Preserving their body image is of the utmost importance as so many children are at risk of going to extremes to control the way they look rather than manage how they feel. I would highly recommend the book "Body Drama" by Dr. Angela Diaz. It contains everything about women's and girls' bodies and how to deal with it. Fair Warning! There is full nudity in this book and the pictures are graphic. It is tasteful and relevant however and as of this writing there is a used copy on Half.com for 61% off!