Do your looks bother you?

Part of being an adolescent is an excessive concern over one's looks. Changes in physical appearance, dreaded acne breakouts - no wonder teenagers spend so much time looking in the mirror!

And if what they see doesn't appeal it can knock their self-esteem. Notes spoke to psychotherapist Shagufta Haider Ali.

Positive and negative
A person with "positive body image" has a true and clear perception of his body shape, celebrates and appreciates this shape, and refuses to spend unreasonable amounts of time and energy worrying about weight, food and calories. He or she feels comfortable and confident about his or her body.

On the other hand, a person with "negative body image" feels awkward or uncomfortable. The person has a distorted perception of body shape. He/she is convinced that only other people are attractive and that his/her body size or shape is a sign of personal failure.

Eating disorders
People who suffer from negative body image are more likely to have an eating disorder as well. Both anorexia and bulimia tend to affect girls more than boys, but 10 per cent of people with eating disorders are boys.

And because we typically think of eating disorders as only affecting girls, they often go unrecognised in males.
Boys with eating disorders also tend to focus more on an athletic appearance or achieving success than on just looking thin.

What are eating disorders
Eating disorders are a severe reaction to an unrealistic body image and a number of influencing factors. These disorders range from occasional overeating or restrictive eating to severe disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and compulsive eating and/or exercising.

People with anorexia are invariably hungry all the time. Often those who suffer from anorexia have a distorted body image, and view themselves as heavier than they really are.

Emotional problems include depression,lack of concentration, irritability, unhappiness and pessimism.

Bulimia involves bingeing and purging. Bingeing is eating large amounts of food in a short amount of time. Purging is the attempt to rid the body of that food by inducing vomiting, taking laxatives, abusing diuretics to increase urination, or abusing drugs that induce vomiting.

Sometimes excessive exercise is also resorted to. Emotional problems can mirror those of anorexia.

Compulsive eating, or "binge eating disorder", involves eating in response to psychological stress rather than hunger.

Sometimes called compulsive overeaters, people with this disorder eat in binges or in frequent sessions using food as a way to deal with uncomfortable feelings.

Warning signs
So how can you tell if a person has anorexia or bulimia? You can't draw conclusions by just their appearance. The following are some symptoms.

Anorexia

• Drops weight to about 20 per cent below normal
• Denies feeling hungry
• Exercises excessively
• Feels fat, generally talks about reducing weight
• Withdraws from social activities

Bulimia

• Makes excuses to go to the bathroom immediately after meals
• Eats huge amounts of food, but doesn't gain weight
• Uses laxatives or diuretics
• Withdraws from social activities

Influencing factors

• Parents who constantly diet, and talk negatively about their weight, send powerful messages that worrying about weight is normal.
  
  Children start thinking like Ray, 30. "While young, I often compared my weight to my mother's, who happens to be shorter and smaller than me.
  
  "When she complained about her weight I used to think that I must be very fat, because I weighed more than her. When I was younger, I did not consider that I was three inches taller than my mother!"
  
• Families with unreasonably highexpectations from children can also cause negative body image.
  
• Girls often engage in "fat talk", in which they complain and find fault with their bodies. Unfortunately, this pressure to conform is perpetuated by media and culture.
  
  Girls try to achieve impossible beauty standards that are produced through a lot of media trickery - photo cropping, airbrushing and body doubles.
  
• Media messages tell girls that for success one must be thin and pretty.

Questions to ask

• Am I dissatisfied with my body size and shape?
• Who do I talk to about my unhappiness with my body, and who might overhear what I have to say?
• Am I always on a diet or going on a diet?
• Do I express guilt when I eat certain foods, or do I refuse to eat certain foods while commenting that I am dieting to lose weight?
• Do I make negative comments about other people's sizes and shapes? Do I feel superior to them because I think my body is better?
• Am I prejudiced against overweight children and adults? Do I avoid making friends with them?

Strategies to improve body image

• Don't talk negatively about your own body. If you do need to lose (or gain) weight, mention it in terms of your health concerns rather than focusing on the social aspects of being "thin" or "fat".
• Try not to lose or gain weight quickly, and don't go in for fad diets.
• Practise healthy exercise behaviour. Healthy, moderate exercise is one of the most important assurances for a lifetime of physical health.
• Examine eating habits. Take a good look in your cupboards and refrigerator. It is unfair to expect to eat healthy if the food available and the eating habits are unhealthy. Consider your supermarket shopping list and evaluate it critically.
• Don't compare. Don't compare yourself with a sibling, friend, cousin ... anybody for that matter.