Body image is a concept that occupies a lot of space in modern conversations about health and wellness. The painful reality is that many of us, particularly female-identified folks, have intensely conflicted relationships with our bodies. This dissonance between how our bodies是and how we want them to be puts us at increased risk for mental and physical health problems. The distinction between keeping our bodies healthy and keeping our bodies in line with unreasonable standards of beauty, fitness, or attractiveness can become blurry if we aren’t aware of the forces impacting body image, so let’s take a deeper look at this important construct.

A brief history of body image
人体图像的一般概念首次在1900年代初使用。神经科医生亨利·海德（Henry Head）确定了身体模式，他建议这是控制身体姿势和运动的神经网络。直到1990年代后期，我们对身体形象的现代理解才出现，当时研究人员开始考虑文化身份（例如性别和种族），社会驱动的美丽思想和自尊心之间的相互作用。身体形象的最新工作定义提出：

1）每种文化都有美丽的标准，

2）美丽的概念在文化内外以各种方式传达

3）关于美丽的假设是由个人内在化的，并且

4）身体满意度或不满意与我们的感觉与社会标准相匹配的方式andhow deeply we internalize assumptions about beauty (1).

我们了解身体的地方
关于身体的信念早就开始了。在一项研究（2）中，五个年龄五个较小的身体比身体大小更适合自己的身体，并在被问及某人想减肥时应做什么时向研究人员提供节食建议（3）。到8岁时，儿童已经开始在道德品格和肤色之间形成联系，将黑暗的孩子标记为行为不佳和更轻松的孩子，因为它更有可能表现得很好（4）。

关于身体大小，肤色和其他美丽标志的信念是由我们的原籍家庭和日益复杂的社交网络塑造的。年轻女孩身体不良形象的最佳预测因素之一是母亲的节食行为，例如（5）。但是，随着孩子在家人之外成长和寻求联系，朋友和媒体在塑造身体形象中发挥了更大的作用。数字和社交媒体平台可以像“超级同伴”一样，对青少年和年轻人施加巨大的压力，这会增加饮食失调的可能性急剧上升（6）。

通过一个营销公司的估计，人们每天接触4,000至10,000个广告。广告中包含的许多图像都被照相，以“纠正”从腰部尺寸到睫毛长度的所有图像，从而增强了美观的不现实和有害标准。我们与AD内容的大部分互动都在潜意识的水平上发生，这使我们最少的机会挑战了有关身体形象的潜在问题信息。

The main idea: We are inundated from a young age with information about what our bodies should look like in order for us to have value and be happy. The messages we receive about body image support notions of beauty that are generally unattainable, and set the stage for intergenerational patterns of body-focused self-worth.

The cost of poor body image
Poor body image poses significant risks to mental and physical health. Eating disorders including Bulimia, Anorexia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder impact between 1.5 and 3.8 percent of individuals in the United States alone (7).饮食混乱更为普遍，包括旨在减肥的行为，例如使用减肥药和泻药以及跳过餐。一项研究估计，在美国，多达14-15岁的女性中多达56％的女性至少从事一种危险的节食行为（8）。关于如何将节食行为归一化并扩展到成年的研究继续出现。

The physical cost of disordered eating is grave - cardiovascular conditions, lowered immunity, and reduced bone density are all potential consequences of prolonged dieting behavior, even when those behaviors don’t reach the level of severity required for an eating disorder diagnosis.

Mental health is also severely negatively impacted by poor body image. Poor body image overall has been linked to increased incidence and severity of depression (9) and is the strongest predictor of being diagnosed with an eating disorder.

The main idea: Even mild to moderate problems with body image can lead to negative physical and mental health outcomes. We are often unaware of the extent to which we are engaging in behaviors that support poor body image (such as calorie counting, restrictive diets, or body altering practices) because so many of these behaviors are considered socially acceptable. The more we try to change our bodies, the harder it is to feel at ease in our bodies and our lives.

向前进
While the forces impacting body image are expansive and powerful, it is possible to change how we feel about our bodies. In our next segment, we’ll explore ways to improve your body image and cultivate a sustainable, respectful relationship with your body.

In the meantime, what experiences have shaped your understanding of your own body? How has your body image changed over time? What factors have influenced your body satisfaction or dissatisfaction the most? We are always interested in learning more about your lived experiences, so questions and comments are welcome!

Written for Fitness Blender by Candice C, PhD
有执照的临床心理健康顾问主管

References

1. Cash, T. F., & Smolak, L. (2012).身体图像，第二版：科学，实践和预防手册(Second ed.). The Guilford Press.

2. Hayes, S., & Tantleff-Dunn, S. (2010). Am I too fat to be a princess? Examining the effects of popular children’s media on young girls’ body image.British Journal of Developmental Psychology，，，，28（2），413–426。https://doi.org/10.1348/026151009x424240

3. Lowes，J。和Tiggemann，M。（2003）。身体不满，节食意识以及父母对幼儿的影响的影响。British Journal of Health Psychology，，，，8（2），135–147。https://doi.org/10.1348/135910703321649123

4. Neto, F., & Paiva, L. (1998). COLOR AND RACIAL ATTITUDES IN WHITE, BLACK AND BIRACIAL CHILDREN.Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal，，，，26(3), 233–243.https://doi.org/10.2224/SBP.1998.26.3.233

5. Abramovitz，B。A.和Birch，L。L.（2000）。五岁女孩关于节食的想法是由母亲的节食预测的。Journal of the American Dietetic Association，，，，100（10），1157–1163。https://doi.org/10.1016/s0002-8223(00)00339-4

6. Pai, S. & Schryver, K. (2015). Children, Teens, Media, and Body Image A Common Sense Media Research Brief.

7. Striegel-Moore，R。H.，Rosselli，F.，Perrin，N.，Debar，L.，Wilson，G。T.，May，A。，＆Kraemer，H。C.（2009）。饮食失调症状患病率的性别差异。International Journal of Eating Disorders，，，，42（5），471–474。https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.20625

8. Croll，J.，Neumarksztainer，D.，Story，M。，＆Ireland，M。（2002）。与青少年的饮食行为无关的风险，风险和保护因素：与性别和种族的关系。Journal of Adolescent Health，，，，31（2），166–175。https://doi.org/10.1016/s1054-139x(02)00368-3

9. Johnson, F., & Wardle, J. (2005). Dietary Restraint, Body Dissatisfaction, and Psychological Distress: A Prospective Analysis.异常心理学杂志，，，，114(1), 119–125. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843x.114.1.119