Children as young as 5 on Merseyside 'worry about being fat or ugly'
A Merseyside support service that helps people suffering with eating disorders has told Radio City they've supported children as young as five who are worried about being fat and ugly.
A Merseyside counsellor that helps people suffering with eating disorders has told Radio City they've supported children as young as five who are worried about being fat and ugly.
It's as shocking new research claims children as young as three are showing signs of being unhappy with their appearance and bodies.
Almost a third of nursery and school staff said they had heard a child label themselves fat while 10% said they had heard a child say they felt ugly. Nearly a quarter said they had "seen signs'' children aged between three and five were "unhappy with their appearance or bodies'' and this figure almost doubled to nearly half of six- to 10-year-olds.
About one in five children has been seen to reject food because "it will make them fat", according to the study. Leigh Best runs TEDS - Talking Eating Disorders in Liverpool. She says children are under growing pressure over body image.
She said. "Sadly I'm not suprised by the research. For me we have an over culture of perfectinism and an over emphasis on what you look like."
"There are a vareity of reasons why children as young as three might not be eating.Profesionally I've seen a child as ayoung as a5, a young girl who was refering herself as fat. As the adults, we need to ask ourselves where is that coming from and what message are we sending out to very young children."
"I believe theres a lot we can do to unpick some of the damage being done by this culture of perfectionism."
The research was done by the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years (Pacey) between June 27 and August 8 and had a limited sample size of 361.
An adviser to the group, Dr Jacqueline Harding, said more research was needed in the area but speculated "contributing factors'' were likely to include television and images in story books and animations.
She added: "We know for sure that early experiences matter the most and we need to be very careful about how (even inadvertently) we signal to children that they should think negatively about their bodies and how they look."
"There is also research evidence to suggest that some four-year-olds are aware of strategies as to how to lose weight.''
Pacey is the early years partner for Be Real, a movement campaigning to change body image attitudes aiming to put health above appearance in young people. .