Abstract
Body image, or an individual’s subjective beliefs about the appearance of their body, is a critical element of a person’s overall self-concept. Aspects of body image serve as distinct influences in the onset of eating disorders (EDs), the prevalence of which continues to increase. This article discusses the importance of health and physical education teachers incorporating ED-prevention strategies into their classrooms.
Body image, or an individual’s subjective beliefs about the appearance of their body, is a critical element of a person’s overall self-concept. Aspects of body image, including weight and shape dissatisfaction, overvaluation of weight and shape, preoccupation with weight and shape, and fear of weight gain, serve as distinct influences in the onset and maintenance of eating disorders (EDs; Prnjak et al., Citation2021). EDs are among the priority mental illnesses among children and adolescents as outlined by the World Health Organization (Citation2021), with anorexia nervosa claiming the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder (Edakubo & Fushimi, Citation2020). Adolescent girls are recognized to be at an increased risk for the development of an ED for a variety of reasons, including factors such as pubertal status and timing (Klump, Citation2013). Changes in diagnostic criteria and more diversity in ED-focused research have led to the identification of additional at-risk groups, including adolescent boys (Nagata et al., Citation2020) and racial and ethnic minority groups (Cheng et al., Citation2019), among others. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic brought a significant increase in ED care volume for adolescents and young adults, raising concerns about the ability of care facilities to adequately address the growing number of patients with EDs (Hartman-Munick et al., Citation2022). As such, ED prevention via body image– improvement strategies is paramount to improving the well-being of youths.
Education on positive body image is currently addressed in many states’ health and physical education standards, but as many as 56.6% of adolescents have been estimated to struggle with body or weight dissatisfaction (Fernández-Bustos et al., Citation2019). This estimate and the postpandemic increase in ED incidence rates signifies a need for health and physical education teachers to re-evaluate existing strategies and consider implementing more body image–promoting lessons, activities, and practices in their curricula. Outlined below are a series of practical suggestions for health and physical education teachers to incorporate into their classrooms for ED prevention.
Media Literacy
Various sociocultural influences play a role in shaping adolescents’ perceptions of themselves and their bodies. A major influence on today’s adolescents is social media. An estimated 95% of youths ages 13 to 17 report using at least one social media platform (Office of the Surgeon General, Citation2023). Social media use has been shown to influence eating behaviors (Chung et al., Citation2021), and excessive social media use is associated with unhealthy body esteem (Yang et al., Citation2020). Regular use of social media has also been found to be associated with increased overvaluation of shape and weight, body dissatisfaction, dietary restraint, and internalization of the thin ideal (McLean et al., Citation2015), all of which result in an elevated risk for the development of an ED.
Media literacy has been shown to be a protective factor for body image–related outcomes (Paxton et al., Citation2022). As such, media literacy skills are an important inclusion in health and physical education classrooms. Teachers can incorporate media literacy into their lessons in a variety of ways, including teaching students to critically evaluate media messages about body image and beauty standards, and discussing the unrealistic nature of these ideals and the use of photo manipulation in media.
Body Appreciation
Body appreciation is defined as “accepting, respecting, and having a favorable opinion of one’s own body, as well as rejecting unrealistic body ideals portrayed by the media” (Quittkat et al., Citation2019, p. 864). Research shows that body appreciation is associated with a reduced risk for various ED risk factors, including dietary restraint, body image disturbances, and psychopathological outcomes such as depression and anxiety (Linardon et al., Citation2022). Among adolescents, body appreciation education has been demonstrated to reduce body dissatisfaction (Fathi & Gorji, Citation2023). As such, health and physical education teachers should consider emphasizing body appreciation in their classrooms by encouraging students to appreciate their bodies for factors beyond appearance and highlighting the importance of health over aesthetics.
Positive Learning Environment
The mental health of adolescents is obviously negatively impacted by bullying. Specifically, experiencing bullying victimization during childhood or adolescence has been shown to be associated with an increased risk for the onset of an ED (Lie et al., Citation2021). School bullying can also lead to unhealthy coping behaviors such as increased caloric intake, binge eating, and sedentary activities (Lian et al., Citation2018). To foster a positive learning environment, teachers should outline classroom expectations that discourage body shaming and promote respect for different body shapes and sizes.
Summary
In conclusion, health and physical education teachers are in a unique position to influence students’ body image and contribute to the prevention of EDs. Through regularly incorporating body image–improvement strategies and practices into their curricula, they can help improve the well-being of youths. Though the SHAPE America – Society of Health and Physical Educators (Citation2024a) National Health Education Standards do indirectly promote curricular attention to body positivity and ED prevention, the 2024 SHAPE America National Physical Education Standards (SHAPE America, Citation2024b) do not offer such direct connections to addressing this critical element in adolescent development. Perhaps it is time for SHAPE America and its constituents to seriously consider how and where to incorporate body positivity and ED prevention into the physical education curriculum.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Helen DuPree
Helen Dupree is a lecturer and Kevin Hunt ([email protected]) is a professor in the School of Health and Human Performance at Georgia College in Milledgeville, GA.
Kevin Hunt
Helen Dupree is a lecturer and Kevin Hunt ([email protected]) is a professor in the School of Health and Human Performance at Georgia College in Milledgeville, GA.
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