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Parents
Shape Body Image,
Self-Esteem of Children
NEW YORK (Reuters
Health) - These days, it is not unusual for girls as young as
age 10 to try to emulate the look of glamorous fashion models
and wispy television stars--a trend that may be linked to eating
disorders among young children.
But according
to two studies in the January issue of Pediatrics, the media is
not the only influence on the eating habits of today's youth.
Parents may play a more significant role than both the media and
peers in the way young children view themselves and their bodies,
researchers report.
Their study
of more than 6,700 adolescents aged 9 to 14 found that both boys
and girls who said that their fathers were concerned with their
weight were more than twice as likely to become constant dieters
compared with their peers, one year later. Boys and girls who
reported that their mother was constantly dieting were also more
likely to become concerned with their own weight and diet frequently,
the report indicates.
``The weight-related
issues of parents are transmitted to their children, therefore
it is important that parents remind themselves that they serve
as role models and therefore should attempt to adopt the diet
and activity patterns they would like their children to emulate,''
Field said in an interview with Reuters Health. ``Parents should
try to refrain from making negative comments about their weight
and the weights of others.''
``Efforts
must be made to help children understand that many models and
actors have body weights and shapes that are unhealthy or unrealistic
to achieve without using unhealthy methods,'' Field suggested.
A second study
found that a parent's concern with a child's weight can hurt the
self-esteem of girls as young as age 5. Girls whose parents were
the most concerned about their child's weight perceived themselves
to be the least capable of physical activity.
``With 25%
of US children overweight today, and with concern about childhood
overweight on the rise, findings from the present study suggest
that how we deal with children's overweight may have implications
for the psychological health of a considerable proportion of US
children,'' Davison and colleagues warn.
SOURCE:
Pediatrics 2001;107:46-60.
Reference
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