Girls starving themselves in search of ‘perfect body’
SCHOOLGIRLS as young as ten are starving themselves to try to get the “perfect” bodies seen on TV shows such as Love Island.
And they are feeling like outsiders because of the peer pressure of social media pictures showing friends “looking good” and having fun.
Disturbing new figures from the NSPCC show that Birmingham Childline conducted 910 counselling sessions on image issues alone in the last year. And only 45 of them were boys. One 15-year-old girl told Childline: “I compare myself to other people every day, and how they have a better figure than me.
“I noticed that I was slightly bigger than some of the girls in my school – and seeing people on social media didn’t help either.
“It has led to me watching weight loss videos and saving pictures of people who have the body I wish I had. At one point I was watching and comparing myself to people who have anorexia.
“I have tried starving myself and exercising so that I can become skinny all over.
“I feel like the odd one out and that everywhere I go I am being looked at and judged.”
Childline warns that her fears are increasingly common, as body image concerns and mental health difficulties fuel a rise in those calling about eating disorders.
Nationally, the charity carried out 5,934 such counselling sessions – equivalent to 16 a day – with children in 2017/18, up 22 per cent on the previous year.
One in six children anorexia, while one in mentioned ten men- tioned bulimia, and almost a third mentioned negative or distorted body image.
Thousands of children contacting Childline about other mental health issues including suicidal feelings and self-harm also talked about eating disorders or eating problems.
Their calls bring the total number of counselling sessions where eating disorders or eating problems were mentioned, to 11,752 a year.
NSPCC Head of Childline Liz Rowe said: “Young people tell us that they feel under pressure to look a certain way and live a certain life, and it’s worrying that we are seeing so many children contact us about eating disorders as a result, in some cases when they are still at primary school.
“It’s crucial that all those struggling with such debilitating eating problems are given all the help they need to make a full recovery so that they can go on to enjoy their childhood and teenage years to the full.
“The starting point on that journey is to open up and talk to someone who can listen without judgment.
“That is why Childline is such a crucial service for these thousands of children.”
I have tried starving myself and exercising so that I can become skinny all over 15-year-old girl