Body Image

Body image refers to how a person perceives, thinks and feels about their physical appearance. While a person’s appearance encompasses only a small part of who they are and what they contribute to the world, body image too commonly represents a person’s greater sense of self worth, whereby poor body image contributes directly to low self esteem.

When what a person sees in the mirror dictates how they feel about their personality and self worth, this may symbolise a deeper problem which can provide the very fuel that feeds an eating disorder.

Nearly half of all women in the healthy weight range overestimate their size and shape, which suggests a high prevalence of women displaying a distorted body image. Self-destructive behaviours, such as dieting or binge eating, are common behaviours which manifest in response to a distorted body image and low self esteem. These destructive behaviours can sometimes indicate the onset of an eating disorder.

Did you know?

In Mission Australia’s National Survey of Young Australians, body image was reported as the number one issue that young people were concerned about in both 2007 and 2008. This means body image ranked higher than the environment, academic pressure and war in the issues concerning Australia’s youth. Poor body image is a key risk factor in the development of an eating disorder, and this statistic represents an alarming warning bell for the pressures felt by Australia’s young population.

Last revision date: Monday, 25 July 2011 11:17