Body Image Linked To Overall Health

Body image is something that everyone has struggled with at some point in their lives. Having a healthy body image and self esteem is important for your all around health because negative thoughts can actually make you physically ill and cause serious health concerns.

Research links poor body image to physical and mental health concerns, especially in women. There are many reasons for this but the most obvious is that those that are not satisfied with their body image tend to participate in unhealthy weight loss practices. These include unhealthy dieting, fasting, vomiting, binge eating, and using laxatives. This is mostly apparent in females but more and more males are also suffering from poor body image. Males tend to want to be larger and more muscular as opposed to being thinner. The unhealthy behavior commonly identified in males is the use of dangerous supplements and working out excessively. Eating disorders in both men and women continue to be on the rise due mainly to societal pressures to be perfect. Not only are eating disorders terrible for the body but they can actually lead to death.   Natural body deterioration can also cause both men and women angst and affect self esteem. Aging, menopause, and other age related changes can impact individuals and also cause a lot of unnecessary daily stress.

Everyone should work on having a healthy body image although how to get there is completely dependant on the individual. Health professionals recommend a number of different strategies for people to gain self esteem and feel good about themselves. They suggest to not compare yourself to others, focus on your accomplishments, learn to take a compliment, focus on positives instead of negatives, and taking pro active steps to change what you do not like about yourself.