When Jill, a 22-year-old from Philadelphia, Pa. was 6 years old, she was not focused on her weekend playdate or the things she was learning in first grade.“Even at that age I was thinking about how to be thinner,” she says, “I would find new ways to throw my lunch away, and would compare myself to the other girls. Thinness was my world, and it still is."
Jill’s 16-year battle with anorexia may sound extreme, but unfortunately it’s not. Statistics compiled by the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) show that 42% of 1st-3rd grade girls want to be thinner, and 81% of 10 year olds are afraid of being fat. A study released this week by Pepperdine University and available online in the journal Sex Roles, sheds light on the complex dynamics involved in the drive for thinness among young girls.
Harriger and her colleagues at Pepperdine looked at thin-ideal internalization — the extent to which individuals embrace the cultural ideal of a slender body as their personal standard. The study involved preschoolers, ages 3 to 5. The researchers wanted to see whether the girls had more flattering thoughts about thin body types than about fat types. Preschoolers were given three figures that were identical except for their body size – thin, average and fat. The girls then attached adjectives to the figures.
The preschoolers used an average of 3.1 negative words and 1.2 positive words to describe the fat figures, compared with an average of 1.2 negative and 2.7 positive adjectives for thin figures. The same girls were also presented with nine figures, three of each body type, and were asked to circle the three they'd most like to play with and one they would want as a best friend. The preschoolers were significantly more likely to choose the thin figure over the other two for a best friend. Similar results showed up for their circle of friends to play with.
Finally the girls were presented with altered game pieces for Chutes and Ladders and Candyland. "Several participants were reluctant to even touch the fat game piece," Harriger told LiveScience. "For example, one child selected the thin piece as the girl she wanted to 'be' to play the game. When I presented her with the fat piece and asked her if she was willing to switch, she crinkled her nose and she reached around my hand, avoiding touching the fat piece altogether, picked up the average-size piece and said, 'No, I won't switch with you, but I will be this one instead.” Other participants made comments such as, "I hate her, she has a fat stomach," or "She is fat. I don't want to be that one."
These results point to the need to begin to address body image and esteem issues at a younger age. Efforts aimed at body acceptance are crucial.
Comments
Interesting story. I'm sure media messages play a role -- a 7-year-old is old enough to pick up on those things. How much of it, do you think, is also learned at home? In other words, young children modeling the behavior or a parent or an older sister?
Yes, the media plays a huge role and even children younger than 7 are susceptible to these messages. Parents also are big influences on behavior. Children are particularly sensitive to messages indicating that others are unhappy with weight, and internalize these messages. This also explains why there is so much weight-related bullying that occurs.
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