Statistics tell us that over 90% of Americans are unhappy and unsatisfied with their bodies. Grocery store aisles are crammed with magazines that scream ways to lose those "ugly" extra pounds. Get thin and you'll be beautiful. Get the perfect body and happy life all in less than 5 days. Negative body image is everywhere and weight loss is sold as the cure that creates a magical transformation from sadness and gloom to peace and happiness. Society has bought into this "cure" and the dieting industry has become a multi-billion dollar business.

We, as professionals in the healing community, need to respond to this false belief. Just take a minute to look around and it becomes obvious that the "be thin and happy" cure doesn't work. Over 60% of Americans are obese, and the percentage of men and women dissatisfied with their bodies is on the rise.

The American Heart Association is concerned about obesity because it greatly contributes to heart disease. Fat may make a heart stop and the effect of a negative body image can trap and kill the soul. Negative body image is directly related to an inability to successfully function as a whole person in society. It stifles a person's creativity, inhibits communication, denies a person of their own self agency and contributes to low self-esteem. Americans are trapped in a negative body image cycle that will not be cured by dieting.

Over the past year a growing number of newspapers and magazines have published articles about the "surprising" trend of older men and women developing eating disorders. It appears that anorexia, the mental illness with the highest mortality rate, is no longer just an issue for adolescent females. Interestingly, the issue of body image was hardly mentioned in any of these articles. To clarify, eating disorders can not be summed up as an result of negative body image, but negative body image and the belief that dieting will make one happy are contributing factors to this growing epidemic.

Unfortunately, losing weight does not change the learned values, thoughts and feelings we have about our bodies, nor does it teach us to take care of ourselves and be pleased with the body we have been given.

Today, professionals believe that a positive body image can influence our ability to express ourselves, perform at our best, be confident with our abilities and live more peacefully. Developing a healthy body image includes identifying our learned values, thoughts and feelings about weight, dieting, health, beauty and what it means to be human. It is limiting to buy into an idea that one's worth is the sum of the number on a scale and your pant size. Recognizing the "Just Be Skinny" cure doesn't work is a beginning. Creating a culture that strives to elicit all qualities of a person, not just their weight in pounds, represents real change.

It's important for professionals in the healing community to consider what their own values are about weight, health, and beauty. Questioning what truly makes one whole and satisfied with themselves is healing. Developing a healthy body image doesn't mean becoming thin or eating whatever we want. It does mean understanding our own bodies and taking care of them. Identifying what areas of ourselves we like, enjoying our talents, and cultivating a resilience to the claim that happiness can only be achieved through a thin body gives us inner peace and strength. Perhaps as we become more aware of our own beliefs we will be able to extend a greater sense of peace and wholeness to our clients.

I encourage you and your clients to begin the journey of cultivating a healthy body image. Join me in September for two free workshops and continue the process throughout the fall with an expressive arts therapy group that addresses healthy body image. For more information or to register, contact me at 415-585-3132. Samantha Zylstra