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Issue Description
Everyone worries about the way they look sometimes, but poor body image can have a big effect on people’s lives. A recent survey found that 32% of pupils worry about their bodies and young people in particular often suffer from low self-esteem. What impact do our negative thinking patterns have on the way that we see ourselves? How do images in the media affect how we feel about our own bodies? This book looks at building self-esteem and improving body image
The information comes from a variety of sources, including government reports and statistics, newspapers and magazine articles, surveys and polls, academic research and literature from charities and lobby groups; articles have been tailored to an 11 to 14 age group. Additionally, at the end of each chapter are two pages of activities relating to the articles and issues raised in that chapter.
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Key Facts
- Self-esteem is all about how much we feel valued, loved, accepted and thought well of by others – and how much we value, love and accept ourselves. (page 1)
- Recognise what you can change and what you can’t. If you realise that you’re unhappy with something about yourself that you can change, then start today. If it’s something you can’t change (like your height), then start to work toward loving yourself the way you are. (page 3)
- A study by psychologists from the Open University found that children aged eight and nine had high levels of self-esteem and optimism, but this dipped in adolescence. 16- and 17-year-olds had the lowest levels of self-esteem and 14- to 21-year-olds the lowest levels of optimism. (page 10)
- An Ofsted survey of almost 150,000 children aged 10 to 15 found that 32 per cent of pupils worry about their bodies. (page 13)
- Bliss magazine asked 2000 girls, aged between 10 and 19, how they felt about their bodies. Nine out of ten confessed they weren’t happy with how they looked. Two-thirds thought they needed to lose weight, 64 per cent of girls under 13 had been on a diet and over a quarter of 14-year-olds had considered plastic surgery. (page 14)
- A survey by Dr David Giles from the University of Winchester found that men who regularly read ‘lads’ magazines are increasingly obsessive about their body image, resulting in them doing excessive exercise and possibly taking steroids to improve their physique. (page 17)
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Table of Contents
Chapter One: Self-Esteem
How can I improve my self-esteem?, How do you feel about yourself?, Confidence and self-esteem, Assertiveness, 'Praising obsession' creates egotistical pupils, The roller-coaster of life, Activities.
Chapter Two: Body Image Issues
Mirror image, Body images, Lads' magazines and body image, Celebrity culture, One in five 11-year-old girls currently on a diet, Body dysmorphic disorder, Angelina Jolie's lips inspire cosmetic surgery, Cosmetic surgery, Teens just 'not bovvered', Love your body, Improve body image, Activities.
