As I grow up, I realise that my hips and bust have grown bigger. My face has widened, and my belly is protruding more. As a teenage girl grows into a woman, changes will always happen because of genetics, diet, or the environment. Boys experience changes too. They can grow taller, with wider shoulders, and get a bigger capacity to gain weight.
I gained weight because in my family, women tend to have bigger hips when they reach adolescence. A high school diet rich in starch also contributed. However other girls can experience weight gain because of more complicated conditions like PCOS (Polycystic ovary syndrome) where patients get irregularly long periods. Sometimes weight gain can also come because of a lifestyle change. Joining high school or college can mean less activity which can lead to weight gain.
Unfortunately, you live in a society that does not accept a different range of body types. If you’re a girl, you have to be slim-thick or just slim to be considered beautiful and attractive. If you’re a boy, you have to be muscular, and with abs to be considered handsome and masculine. Movies, TV shows, music videos, and social media influencers tell us that a specific body type is the ideal, constantly reinforcing that if you don’t look a certain way, you’re not beautiful. Sometimes it gets worse because now that I’m bigger, I get shamed for looking like that. However, body shaming isn’t an effective way to encourage people to be physically active. Body shaming leads to negative body image which can lead to anxiety and depression.
How can I deal with body image issues?
Teachers, parents and other students can also affect body image. When caregivers try to shame us into becoming healthy, they don’t understand that they’re just bullying us. Role models and caregivers need to stand up for us. They should also provide non-judgmental mental and physical health support. Notably, we are also allowed to stand up for ourselves when adults make nasty comments about our bodies. If parents don’t stop their friends and relatives from making size-based jokes about our appearances, we can set boundaries with those people and refuse to spend time around them.
It’s also important for us to remember that you shouldn’t spend too much time online and when you do, pay attention to the kind of content you consume. Pop culture shows people when they’re at their best. They have been through hair and makeup. Their images are altered with Photoshop to remove marks like acne or stretch marks. Social media influencers don’t reveal that they use performance-enhancing drugs, surgery, extreme diets, or intense workouts to look a certain way. In most instances, they use their looks to sell products or diet plans to help you look like them. You can’t believe and/or imitate what they’re saying because their plans and products aren’t the reason why they look a specific way. Even though you followed a verified diet and workout plan, you won’t necessarily look like them. And if you keep chasing that, you’ll never be happy.
If you gain weight because you love food, you shouldn’t be ashamed of that either. Having a healthy appetite isn’t something to be sorry for. Constantly policing someone who loves food won’t make them shed weight. Eating shouldn’t be moralised. It’s a routine, that we need to survive. When you love food, it’s more important to focus on having a balanced diet and being reasonably active.
You likely also spend most of your time with your peers. These peers can contribute to body image issues or boost confidence. If you accept your friends, regardless of size, then you can help reduce negative body image. It makes it easier for me to go on a walk for my health if I know my classmates won’t make fun of me for trying. I won’t feel bad for eating if my friends aren’t constantly making comments about my food. Such comments lead to disordered eating. They don’t help you eat “better”.
It’s also important to call out bullying to prevent anxiety and depression. Supporting your friends no matter what body changes you experience helps reduce body dissatisfaction. The most important thing to remember is that you are not your body, and no one should make us feel less than because we’re bigger.
Image from Freepik.
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