On November 11, 2010, Meredith Body Rocks members open up to "today's family, weight and self esteem". A new program called body rocks started by a high school teacher is to help promote a more healthful body image. some of the girls in the group opened up to us.
Take a look at the video:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/40130944#40130944Here is the transcript of what the Body Rocks Girls said during the interview:
>> i've gotten a lot more confident in my body compared to years before. sometimes i will look at myself and be like, wow.
>> i look at myself in the mirror and saying to myself i am totally am that and can't get a date.
>> i look in the mirror and think i do need to lose weight and wish my body looked like that and sometimes i don't do anything about it.
>> not like i say, i look fat today, i can put on a couple more pounds because this doesn't fit me as good as it could.
>> you look in magazines and like, man, i wish i had that body, the perfect body. you have to think everyone around you doesn't look like that.
>> some people think they're fat and some people aren't fat but they say they are, just because there's another girl skinnier than her.
>> no one stops each other when they're like, oh, i look so fat, they just go along with it.
>> parents have a lot of influence in their children. parents always complement you and stuff. it really matters. it really does change your life.
>> one reason i joined is i could help others like feel confident. others say, i look so ugly and my mom is always there, saying chelsea, no, you look beautiful.
>> we try to influence our school and make people proud of themselves. and say, i love my arms or body and love my smell.
>> you hear your friends saying they're fat, correct them, no, you're not. you need to know.
>> it just reminds you to love yourself for who you are.
>> even though you may have some insecurities, you will always be okay to somebody, maybe not everybody. somebody will be like, oh, you're perfect, you're beautiful!
>> robin silverman is the author of "good girls don't get fat." how weight obsession is messing up our girls, how kikkan help them thrive despite it. i think that program is so important because it's clear body image plays such a big part in the lives of girls.
>> that's right. it's in everything they do and think and say. they get up in the morning, they're thinking about it, get dressed, they're thinking about it, go to school, have relationships with girls and boys thinking about it. go home and see images, they're thinking about it.
>> is that the problem, the images are everywhere now?
>> they are, everywhere we look and in every way, in the internet and on tv and the radio we listen to. and everywhere we look, we see them.
>> there seems to be such a disconnect, between what a girl looks like and what she thinks she looks like.
>> that's right. when we look in the mirror, we start to see our flaws. we have this standard we look at and think we're supposed to look at that and we have this perfect standard we're supposed to be going towards. when we do that, when we look in the mirror, all we see are those flaws and imagine that's the way other people are seeing us.
>> you talk about the body bully within. in many way, these young girls are their worst critics.
>> that's right. everybody has that body bully within, that self critical voice that says, you're not good enough, you're not thin enough, not perfect enough to achieve your goals to be worthwhile. it seems that it's always there. sometimes the voices are loud, sometimes they're quiet. but for most girls, they tend to be there.
>> you saw that girl tearing up, talking about how important it was her mom dealing with her and her body image and what your mom says really can affect you. yet, i am a mom. sometimes you feel you're walking on eggshells, you may say the wrong thing. what advice do you have for parents when it comes to dealing with this?
>> we want our mothers to remember what they do and say are important. those direct comments about your daughter's weight, they will have major impact. even the comments you say about your own weight will have an impact about the neighbor's legs, about what this other woman is wearing, these all play a role. somebody had said to me during the interviews for this book, that when they look at their mom and their mom is criticizing what they look like, that they think maybe i should be criticizing myself, too, because maybe i'm bigger than her or people say i look like her.
>> what questions should a mom ask herself before she addresses anything with her chooiild?
>> right, is a good idea to do that. is my daughter healthy and happy and successful and more important, is my daughter's weight a problem for me or problem for her?
>> thank you so much. the book is "good girls don't get fat," robin silverman.
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A 2009 poll revealed that an alarming 95 percent of females between the ages of 16 and 21 want to change their bodies in some way. Low self-esteem, eating disorders, extreme dieting and unnecessary plastic surgery are all too common, even among very young girls.
To help combat this trend, child and adolescent development specialist Robyn J. A. Silverman has written
“Good Girls Don’t Get Fat: How Weight Obsession Is Screwing Up Our Girls and What We Can Do to Help Them Thrive Despite It.”
