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| Even girls in kindergarten wish they were slimmer |
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| jannah |
| 03/08/05 at 10:31:14 |
| Wow this is so sad... what are we teaching these girls...sometimes I feel like in the non-muslim world girls are taught their worth is thru image and among muslim girls it's thru status&money, who they marry etc... - J. Even girls in kindergarten wish they were slimmer By Jacqueline Maley March 9, 2005 Girls as young as five are dissatisfied with their bodies and wish they were thinner, research has found. In a survey of 81 girls aged five to eight, researchers from Flinders University found 46.9 per cent wanted to be skinnier, and 45.7 per cent said they would diet if they put on weight. "An awareness of body image was originally thought to develop around adolescence but it's getting younger and younger," said researcher Hayley Dohnt. The study, published in the British Journal of Developmental Psychology, found older girls were more likely to yearn for slimmer bodies, with about 71 per cent of the seven-year-olds surveyed saying they wanted a slighter figure. The girls, recruited from two South Australian private schools, were also acutely aware of the connection between popularity and body weight, Ms Dohnt said. "We found a large majority said that children would play with a thinner figure and they wouldn't play with the larger figure." AdvertisementAdvertisement The girls were asked what they thought their peers wished to look like and there was a significant correlation between that and the girls' desires for themselves. "Peer norms are in place in girls as young as six and seven," Ms Dohnt said. "They all know being thinner is the thing to do in society." The pressures of media, parents and peers meant young children were becoming increasingly aware of beauty ideals, Ms Dohnt said. It was important to address unhealthy body images early, because it could lead to low self-esteem, depression and eating disorders in later life. "Body image and body dissatisfaction is developing a lot earlier than we thought. Parents and teachers need to be aware of this." Dr Michael Kohn, medical director of the eating disorder program at The Children's Hospital, Westmead, said more pre-adolescent children had been presenting with eating disorders in the past 10 years. "[Pre-teens] are less sophisticated and more concrete than their older peers," Dr Kohn said. "They tend to be much more rigid and black-and-white in their thinking. They have relatively simple associations." Dr Kohn said younger patients were more likely to restrict their eating and exercise obsessively, but did not purge their food as often as adolescent patients. Body image issues were not restricted to girls, Dr Kohn said. His last three pre-teen patients had been seven-year-old boys. He said peer pressure and harassment about weight was a serious problem in school playgrounds. |
| 03/08/05 at 11:05:33 |
| jannah |
| Re: Even girls in kindergarten wish they were slim |
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| Kathy |
| 03/09/05 at 08:45:43 |
| [slm] Ali is only 10 and has become obsessed with his body image. Lately it has been his height, pectoral muscles and mustache..... (At least there is some Beard lovin thinking!) He is normal weight and height. If he was over weight I would really worry for his self image. I can't imagine what 'less than perfect' girls and boys must be going through. |
| Re: Even girls in kindergarten wish they were slim |
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| timbuktu |
| 03/09/05 at 09:00:00 |
| [slm] I admit to making a small contribution to this craze :) Since childhood, I had been amazed at the size of aunties who were bulging, mostly in the middle. and I learnt that obesity is one cause of hear attack. plus, staying in the West, the slimmer girls did look prettier. So, after marriage I told my wife abou my preference for slimness. poor wife! she fasted, she starved herself (without me knowing), she took weight-reduction pills, and she ollapsed a few times at work, and her colleagues had to call me (and call me unmentionable names). Then I discovered that her bones are light but broad; mine are smaller but more dense. Now I say nothing, and she is more voluminous, although she has formed a life-long habit, and eats little. And I have discovered that people tend to increase in volume as they get older. :( |
| Re: Even girls in kindergarten wish they were slim |
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| M.F. |
| 03/10/05 at 17:42:20 |
| [slm] Wow I can't even remember anything about my self image during my childhood, but during adolescence I was very skinny and hated how I looked. I also rememer a friend of mine who was only slightly overweight and who was teased throughout middle school. Ugh. There is no one crueler than adolescents, especially early on, especially girls. I hate even thinking about it. It's one of my biggest fears for my own son, going through that cruelty.... It's amazing how things are changing. Morocco's catching up to the rest of the modern world and obesity is starting to become a reality in this country where many (though al hamdu lillah not most) still barely get enough to eat. |
| It can be a good thing too |
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| Hard2Hit |
| 04/28/05 at 13:35:19 |
| [slm] I think, islamically speaking, its okay as long as its done with the right neeyah. By that I mean the intention behind it shouldn't be to either flont away their beauty or to attract attention of boys. Furthermore it shouldn't become an obsession but rather just be their concern to be in good shape. Staying healthy and slim is gr8, nothing wrong about it. And it can help these girls in their future married life as well. Like if a girl tries to stay slim and works out regularly then even a not so religious hubby will keep being attracted towards her. We are living in a world full of fitnah and majority of Muslim men these days gawk around and also cheat their wives. Muslim women would have to be active in the area of fitness as well, to fight some challenges of marital life. |
| 04/28/05 at 13:39:17 |
| Hard2Hit |
| umm |
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| jannah |
| 04/28/05 at 14:10:30 |
| wlm, ummm HELLO these are girls in kindergarten.. this means they are 4 or 5 years old!! and they are DIETING to be even THINNER because of disugusting images in the media displaying undernourished girls as attractive... these are not obese girls that have serious health problems!! these are healthy little girls who are obsessed with body image.. this should be a serious concern for all of us |
| stats say... |
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| Hard2Hit |
| 04/28/05 at 14:32:11 |
The sadder part is that so many of these girls in kindergarten actually need to be thinner. No kid in the playground is going to lecture a fat kid about dieting, they'd rather make fun of the fat kid. Kids are cruel, there's nothing you can do to change that. It is the parents' responsibility to encourage them to stay fit and letting them continue to eat themselves into pre-pubescent obesity is FAR more dangerous than a few fat jokes from classmates. Being overweight is not just a matter of being unattractive, its unhealthy. The childhood obesity rates in the US are truly staggering... and to a certain extent, I think that saying stuff like 'we shouldnt be so focused on appearences' is just a way of sweeping this problem under the rug. Obese/overweight children are much, much more likely to grow up to become overweight adults... and put themselves at risk for a host of serious medical problems. It is necessary to stop this 'its ok to be fat, cause not everyone has to be skinny' attitude. Yes, everyone should be thin, its just healthier that way. |
| girls in kindergarten |
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| jannah |
| 04/29/05 at 01:11:39 |
| slm, i'm sorry how many girls have you actually seen in kindergarten that were obese? it is normal to be healthy and still have baby fat at that age. plainly you are just not getting the point.. it is NOT about weight, being thin or being healthy.. it's about the images and values society places on certain things. it's about self-esteem and control and self-obsession. have you ever known someone who has had an eating disorder? ever seen an 80 pound girl go into a self-loathing crying jag because she ate a tiny piece of bread and then go try to throw it up? have you ever seen someone cut themselves because they hate themselves so much, they just want to see the blood and feel the pain? i have and these were MUSLIMS. the problems they have are exacerbated by those who continue to propogate wrong values and images in society. so girls in kindergarten do NOT need to be model thin. they do NOT need irresponsible people around them telling them to diet to lose weight at 5 years old. and they certainly don't need people telling them that they are prettier, nicer, better as long as they keep getting thinner. |
| Re: Even girls in kindergarten wish they were slim |
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| Aadhil |
| 04/29/05 at 02:14:09 |
| [slm] I think it's a society thing. As long as society accepts it then that's how it will be. Next time you go shopping (In the states) visit the clothing section for little girls. If you havent seen it before you'll prolly be shocked. [slm] |
| misunderstanding |
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| Hard2Hit |
| 04/29/05 at 09:44:28 |
| [slm] [quote] jannah plainly you are just not getting the point.. it is NOT about weight, being thin or being healthy.. it's about the images and values society places on certain things. it's about self-esteem and control and self-obsession. have you ever known someone who has had an eating disorder? ever seen an 80 pound girl go into a self-loathing crying jag because she ate a tiny piece of bread and then go try to throw it up? have you ever seen someone cut themselves because they hate themselves so much, they just want to see the blood and feel the pain? i have and these were MUSLIMS. [/quote] Those cases are of obsession and if you read my first post again then you'll find: [quote] Hard2Hit I think, islamically speaking, its okay as long as its done with the right neeyah. By that I mean the intention behind it shouldn't be to either flont away their beauty or to attract attention of boys. Furthermore it shouldn't become an obsession but rather just be their concern to be in good shape. [/quote] Hence both of us are saying that obsession is a big no no. [quote] jannah so girls in kindergarten do NOT need to be model thin. they do NOT need irresponsible people around them telling them to diet to lose weight at 5 years old. and they certainly don't need people telling them that they are prettier, nicer, better as long as they keep getting thinner. [/quote] What I merely suggested was that kids, and both male and female, shouldn't have eating disorder which might make them fat. And when I talked about being thin then that doesn't mean 'model thin', theres a difference. And yeah you are right, putting kids on diet at that age would be cruel. Childhood obesity is also at a much higher rate than ever before. It's because kids aren't as active as they used to be because of video games, computers and other sedentary activities. Plus the fact that most kids are living off of unhealthy or fast foods instead of fruits/veggies/healthy stuff. Parents rarely cook at home anymore, especially if both parents are working. What I would suggest is to encourage healthy eating in the family. Also, parents are role models for their kids. If the parents don't eat their veggie, drink too much pepsi, and eat McDonald's every other day, the kids are gonna do the same. But if everyone in the family eats healthy, well balanced meals, then the kids will come out healthy as well and no one will need to diet. What i'm advocating is good health, although my first post was talking about looks but there was an assumption that environment is islamic, neeyah is right and later in life, the girl is hijabi/niqabi and is keeping fit for her hubby. Which would be ibadah? (and some points of that post were in jest) Anyways, I think there is a misunderstanding here, maybe due to my lack of eloquence. Salaams, -Hard2Hit. PS: [quote] jannah ummm HELLO [/quote] .| \/ [img]http://www.dealer.com.pk/temp/h2hsig.gif[/img] |
| 04/29/05 at 10:27:48 |
| Hard2Hit |
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