10- and 11- year old Canadian kids unhappy with their bodies: study

Canadian kids are heading back to school with more than books and backpacks. They've got body image concerns on their minds.

According to a soon-to-be published study by researchers from the University of Alberta and Harvard University, 10 and 11 year olds are worried about achieving the perfect body.

For males, that means being muscular and lean; for females, that means being thin.

The researchers measured the height and weight of 4254 10 and 11 year olds and asked them to indicate how strongly they agreed with the statement, "I like the way I look."

The researchers found that the prevalence of poor body satisfaction amongst normal weight, overweight, and obese girls was 5.7%, 10.4%, and 13.1%.

The corresponding figures for boys were 7.6%, 8.4%, and 8.1%.

Girls living in rural areas and who came from families with little formal education were particularly likely to report poor body satisfaction.

A number of previous studies have also indicated that weight preoccupation and body image dissatisfaction are significant issues for this generation of kids.

The good news, according to the researchers, is that schools have an opportunity to turn the situation around. 10 and 11 year olds tend to respond positively to school-based programs designed to educate them about eating well; being physically active; and positive body image.

Now over to you:

What do you do to try to help your kids make sense of the high-pressure messages in the media - the ones that say that you have to have a perfect body to be worth anything? Do your kids understand that average people don't look like supermodels and that even supermodels don't look like supermodels without makeup and photo manipulation software?

Related:

National Eating Disorders Information Centre: The Girl Guides of Canada are launching a new "Love Yourself" badge, developed in collaboration with the National Eating Disorders Information Centre. "The challenges associated with the badge are age appropriate activities which help girls to explore beliefs, attitudes and behaviours that impact body image and self esteem, and to develop resilience and life skills." How cool is THAT?

Body Talk: The Straight Facts on Fitness, Nutrition, and Feeling Great About Yourself: The body image book for preteen girls that I wrote with my daughter Julie. Julie also wrote this article ("The Don't Try It Diet") for the girls' magazine New Moon about her struggle with an eating disorder.

Ten Things You Can Do to Help Your Preteen Daughter Feel Better About Herself: Practical things you can do to boost your daughter's self-esteem.