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You are here: Home / SELF LOVE & BODY IMAGE / Body image workshops for teachers and other anti-diet wish-list must-haves

Body image workshops for teachers and other anti-diet wish-list must-haves

December 11, 2019 by Molly Leave a Comment

On a rainy, cold, dark and dreary day two weeks ago in London a team of people met to discuss how to end the marketing of diets and weight loss products around kids. It wasn’t a high profile meeting endorsed by celebrities or featuring #gifted goodie bags and a who’s who of Instagram influencers, but then no one said creating change was glamorous.

When I launched the #FreeFromDiets campaign back in the summer I had no idea how it would go down. It started with a few angry rants on Instagram Stories about diet club reps handing out leaflets at various school gates up and down the country, and then it snowballed into a fully fledged campaign with a petition and a video and a website and a team of ambassadors and a campaign manager.

Every week I get DM after DM after DM from parents all over the UK telling me stories of weight loss brands using schools and kids’ clubs as a recruitment ground for new members.

Aggressive marketing techniques include handing out leaflets in school book bags to take home to parents, hanging huge banners on school gates, putting up posters in kids’ club changing rooms. I even heard from one mum who was shocked to find a rep for a big diet brand dressed up as the Easter Bunny in her local park, handing out balloons and leaflets enticing parents to join her local club.

It seems it’s gone unchallenged for so long that it’s become normalised, a part of every day life for so many.

So while the rates of pre-teens getting treated for anorexia doubles in a decade, the number of mental health issues associated with poor body image rises and many children literally skip school altogether because of low self-esteem linked to how they feel in their body… the big diet brands quietly rumble on, using the very places children should be safest from messaging around weight loss and perfect body ideals as prime marketing locations for new members.

Mums are big business – and never mind if the kids see the ads, many brands offer free membership for kids too! Get the whole family through the door in one go and triple your wins! Everyone’s happy (apart from the kids who go on to develop eating disorders and the mums who hate themselves after regaining the weight, and the children who don’t raise their hand in class for fear of their body being wrong… but we won’t worry about them. You can’t please everyone).

Headlines about obesity epidemics and simplified narratives around health keep the diet brands safe from scrutiny, it seems. They can use the health argument to justify hanging banners on school gates which sell the thin = happy / thin = successful / thin = healthy message. They just want to help people! They just want as many people as possible to know that for a minimal fee they too can lose weight and get their life back on track. Their work is practically charitable, really. (We’ll skim over the fact many of these diet ads show pictures of chips and “junk foods” – photos of the very foods the ASA recently banned from being advertised within 100 metres of a school due to said obesity epidemic.)

And apparently the reality of the problem is too meta to cover in the news, as journalists regularly get in touch saying they’re interested in the campaign and want to cover it, but only if I can get proof of a rep actually handing a leaflet to a child and saying something along the lines of “You’re fat, read this, then come to my club”, before locking them up in a (low calorie) ice cream van Child Catcher style and stealing them away into the diet branded sunset. Of course this isn’t happening, the reality is far more nuanced and less tabloid- shocking, but no less dangerous.

The rates of pre-teens with eating disorders has doubled in the last decade. One in five girls aren’t raising their hand in class for fear of being judged over how they look. Children are under-performing at school and some aren’t attending altogether due to the way they feel about their body. But yes, let’s just blame it all on Instagram and photo editing apps and “the media”, because that’s easier than addressing the fact thousands of our children are walking past huge banners for diet brands on their school railings every single day.

And so I guess it’s no surprise that none of the diet brands agreed to join us for our first round table event, to find a way to work together to market their products in a more responsible way, away from children. Change doesn’t happen overnight and all that.

But what was pretty cool was the fact that Girl Guiding UK joined us for the discussion, offering amazing insight into the point of view of young people, and telling us about the brilliant work they’re doing to counteract negative body image and narrow beauty ideals and promote self esteem amongst young girls. And what was also pretty cool was the fact we had two health professionals – an eating disorder therapist and a GP – at the meeting too, along with an activist who only went and met with London Mayor Sadiq Khan two days afterwards and told him all about the campaign. Pretty cool indeed.

If you’re interested in finding out about what was discussed on the day and some of the key areas we’re working on to counteract diet club messaging around kids (while we simultaneously work to get it eradicated around schools completely) then you can read the full round table report here.

You can also have your say on the specific areas you’d like us to focus on here.

Next month we’ll be announcing big plans for 2020, including some really fun and inspiring events that you can get involved in and fundraising activity to fund brilliant new initiatives to counteract the diet messaging (body image workshops for teachers are top of our list!).

I know it’s a scary time. And the news is often depressing and uncertain. But I feel hopeful for 2020 because I see how many amazing people are working to put good stuff into the world, actively create change, give up their time and their platforms for free to make a difference. And this gives me hope.

We’re only just getting started.

Filed Under: SELF LOVE & BODY IMAGE Tagged With: #FreeFromDiets, body happy kids, body image, diet culture

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Hello and welcome! I'm Molly Forbes - podcaster, presenter and blogger with a passion for positivity, confidence and body image chat. Regularly writing and vlogging about empowering female issues from a motherhood angle, I also cover lifestyle and fashion topics for like-minded mums who want to rediscover themselves after having children. Thanks for stopping by! Read More…

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YOUTUBE

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If you feel bad about your body you’re less like If you feel bad about your body you’re less likely to do nice things for it, including moving in a way that feels good and eating in a way that feels good. (FYI health is about more than just exercise and nutrition, but let’s get deeper into the exercise thing for a second...)
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Research shows kids who have low body image are less likely to get involved with sports and more likely to skip PE. 
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Want kids to move more? Stop teaching them that one type of body is better than another - because if their body doesn’t look like your version of a healthy / beautiful / successful body not only will they be more likely to feel shame over their body, they’ll be less likely to engage with the very behaviours you want them to do more of (or be more likely to engage with them in an UNhealthy way - compulsive exercise is dangerous).
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Instead:
💕Try talking about the intrinsic benefits of exercise over the extrinsic ones (ie. how it makes you FEEL instead of how it makes you LOOK).
✨Create opportunities for movement where ALL children feel welcome. 
💕Show children diverse representation so they can see sporting heroes with a range of body types and know that movement is for EVERYbody. 
✨Take a zero tolerance approach to appearance based bullying, body shaming and comments that perpetuate weight stigma (including even the hint that fat = bad). 
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(If you’re a teacher or youth leader interested in knowing more about this topic, a #BodyHappyKids workshop will help - follow the link in my bio 🥰❤️)
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[Image description: A multicoloured slide with an overlaid screenshot of tweet by Molly which reads ‘If your intention is to “get kids healthy” then you need to be aware of how weight bias, weight stigma and poor body image are active barriers to health. The end.]
Sharing this outfit pic with you because it’s a Sharing this outfit pic with you because it’s a crying shame only the piles of laundry got to see it, quite frankly. Finally, a pair of pre-loved jeans bought online that are true to size, consistent with the rest of the brand’s sizing and actually fit! 🎉 
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PS heads up - I’ll be doing a Q&A about body image and kids in my Stories on Friday. The Q sticker is up in my Stories now if you’d like to submit a Q! 💕 #BodyHappyKids
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[Image description: Molly is standing in front of the mirror looking very pleased with the fact her new jeans bought from Depop fit her. She is wearing pink patterned jeans with cherubs on them, a pink check jumper and pink trainers. There are piles of laundry on the bed behind her.]
Another photo of us on a walk, because it’s been Another photo of us on a walk, because it’s been our main form of entertainment this year. Anyone else? 
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I honestly now get excited about putting my boots on and being outdoors, even in the rain. I’m going to start hugging trees next and going on wild camping weekends that involve doing a poo behind a tree and making my own fire. Joke.... maybe. 
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Just another reminder that all movement is valid, exercise doesn’t need to have to be about burning calories or even tracking steps in order for it to be “worth it”. Hope everyone’s had a great weekend ❤️
#BodyHappyMum #JoyfulMovement
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Image description: Molly and her two daughters stand on a bridge in the countryside. They are all wearing hiking boots and outdoor clothes and smiling.
My body is good and excellent and my body only bel My body is good and excellent and my body only belongs to me ✨ (Words by Effie May, age 6 💕) #BodyHappyMum
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Image description: A close up of Molly’s bare skin as she hugs herself. It’s dark and part of her body is illuminated by light. She has her eyes closed and is smiling.
“Mummy I wrote a letter to myself,” she said. “Mummy I wrote a letter to myself,” she said. And my heart swelled. Maybe I’m doing an OK job after all 🤞❤️💕 #BodyHappyKids 
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I could leave this caption here but I need to make something clear: if you think it’s great that my daughter - a thin, white, nondisabled, cisgender kid - feels good in her body but you’re not here for the self-love of any kid who doesn’t look like her.... then you’ve missed the point.
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ALL bodies are good bodies, and without this important piece of the puzzle ALL children will be at risk of doubting their body. And what happens when they doubt their body? Well... hating our body doesn’t make us treat it with love, and the same is true of kids. 
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Great, now we’ve cleared that up, can we take a moment to appreciate the incredible phonetic spelling on show here?! 
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Image description: Effie, age 6, stands against a white wardrobe holding up a letter she has written to herself. It is spelled phonetically and reads “My body is good and excellent and my body only belongs to me.”
I used to struggle to buy stuff for myself if I ha I used to struggle to buy stuff for myself if I had any spare cash - not just treats, but basics like pants and tights that fit properly. I’d tell myself I didn’t need it, didn’t deserve it, couldn’t justify the expense. There’s still that little voice (the habit of putting everyone else’s needs first and my own last dies hard it seems) but I’m leaning into exploring why it still sometimes rears its head, instead of always listening to it. 
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I’m trying to buy as much as I can from pre-loved places or small businesses these days, which is why I’m very happy to share with you some of my latest finds: a star dress from Depop (£5), earrings from @kelzojewellery by @ourtransitionallife (£12) and the comfiest tights I’ve ever owned in Raspberry Pie by @snagtights (£6.99) 💕💕💕
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Have you found any great small brands lately? Shout them out in the comments so we can all support in the run up to Christmas. ⬇️⚡️
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Image description: Molly is smiling and sticking out her tongue to the camera. Her hair is freshly dyed a light shade of pink. She’s wearing a pink t’shirt underneath a black and white star patterned slip dress, with bright pink tights and black and pink earrings decorated with a boob design.
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