During the month of February, FAU celebrates bodies of every shape and size! Body Image is comprised of our thoughts, perceptions, and attitudes about our bodies. Having a positive or negative body image can affect our mental and physical health. Modeling positive body image, where we see ourselves as we are and accept our bodies, can be a great influence on our students.
Try these steps to model better body image for your student:
Encourage critical thinking: What we see in the media may not always be true. Often, companies are trying to sell a product by making us feel insecure about ourselves. Recognizing this and speaking out about it are important steps. Try following positive influences on social media.
Demonstrate a healthy relationship with food and
exercise:
We all need to eat and move in order to enjoy our bodies. Dieting and exercising to lose weight can harm the relationship we have with our bodies and diminish our own body image. Eating and moving mindfully are great ways to improve our own relationships with these.
Build Self-esteem: Setting goals and achieving them helps us to build our own self-esteem. Encourage your student to strive for their goals and support them along the way. Showing your student that they are loved and supported will have a positive impact in times of higher stress.
Encourage your student to sign up for The Body Project, rated a model program for efficacy in improving body satisfaction and reducing the likelihood of eating disorders by BluePrints for Healthy Youth Development.
Students can also check out a full schedule of body-positive events during the month of February at the link above.