Free

E-newsletter

Subscribe to Housecall

Our weekly general interest
e-newsletter keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics.

Sign up now

Healthy body image: Tips for guiding girls

A healthy body image is an important part of a growing girl's self-esteem. Understand what you can do to help your daughter feel comfortable with her body.

By Mayo Clinic staff

Girls often face significant pressure to be physically attractive. The quest for a perfect body can take a heavy toll, though. Find out what you can do to help your daughter develop and maintain a healthy body image.

Causes of a negative body image

Maintaining a healthy body image during adolescence is often difficult for girls. Factors that might harm a girl's body image include:

  • Natural weight gain and other changes caused by puberty
  • Peer pressure to look a certain way
  • Media images that promote the ideal female body as thin
  • Having a mother who's overly concerned about her own weight or her daughter's weight or appearance

Consequences of a negative body image

If your daughter doesn't live up to her ideal body image, she might begin to feel inadequate and ashamed of her body — even if she's not overweight. This can increase the risk of mental health concerns, including:

  • Low self-esteem
  • Depression
  • Eating disorders

Sometimes a negative body image leads to skipping meals or a cycle of dieting, losing weight and regaining weight — which can further harm self-esteem.

Some research suggests a link between body dissatisfaction among girls and cigarette smoking, possibly because girls believe that smoking will help them control their weight.

Having a negative body image also might affect a girl's comfort with her sexuality as she gets older. A negative body image might lead some girls to consider cosmetic surgery.

Next page
(1 of 2)
References
  1. American Psychological Association Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls. Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls. American Psychological Association. http://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/girls/report-full.pdf. Accessed June 5, 2012.
  2. The sexualization of girls: What girls can do. American Psychological Association. http://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/girls/report.aspx?item=3. Accessed June 5, 2012.
  3. Wojtowicz AE, et al. Weighing in on risk factors for body dissatisfaction: A one-year prospective study of middle-adolescent girls. Body Image. 2012;9:20.
  4. Durkin SJ, et al. How do adolescent girls evaluate body dissatisfaction prevention messages? Journal of Adolescent Health. 2005;37:381.
  5. Gondoli DM, et al. Heterosocial involvement, peer pressure for thinness, and body dissatisfaction among young adolescent girls. Body Image. 2011;8:143.
  6. Body image and your kids: Your body image plays a role in theirs. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.womenshealth.gov/bodyimage/kids/. Accessed June 7, 2012.
  7. Eating disorders. American Psychological Association. http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/eating.aspx. Accessed June 7, 2012.
MY01225 Sept. 12, 2012

© 1998-2013 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). All rights reserved. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.com," "EmbodyHealth," "Enhance your life," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

  • Reprints
  • Print

  • Share on:

  • Email

Advertisement


Text Size: smaller largerlarger