Grade 7: Promoting Positive Body Image

Students are finishing a unit on body image in wellness class this week as they host volunteers from the Eating Disorder Foundation of Denver. Their presentations focused on providing current and accurate information while helping students develop a critical awareness of cultural and media-based messages that may promote distorted body image perceptions.

“I start this unit by asking the kids what they look for in a friend, what they appreciate about their families, whom they admire and why, a favorite teacher and why,” says wellness teacher Betsy Metcalfe. “We talk about all the qualities that are so important to us and I tell them that these are the very things others look for and appreciate about us. As we talk about body image and the role of media and the ways we can affect how others see themselves, I try to remind them time and again about what is truly important.”

 

Betsy adds, “In terms of the media, we look at the ways images of both males and females are altered to the point that those individuals are no longer real but simply computer generated images. It’s important that they know this as they look at print ads.”

 

Betsy shows two video clips and discuss whether males and females are equally affected by negative body image perceptions. “Ultimately, kids agree that males are just as impacted but may show it differently,” she says.

 

The unit also includes the topic of words and their impact, a theme that is reiterated by the guest speakers.

 

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