Guess What?? It's Fat Talk Free Week!!

Guess what this week is?? Fat Talk Free Week!! I just heard about this and I am so excited. What a great idea! So, what in the world is Fat Talk Free Week anyways? It is five whole days set aside, from October 19-23, to raise awareness of body image issues and to bring attention to how damaging the 'thin ideal' is for women in our society.

The following is a video which has been put together to inspire and impact, and I highly encourage you to watch it! The formatting is not working on the video below, so CLICK HERE to watch!

And another one! Because it is so good! CLICK HERE!!

Also, here are some facts that were put together by TriDelta, the sorority and Greek organization that is headlining this week's End Fat Talk campaign. You may find these facts surprising, interesting, disheartening. They may inspire you to join the fight! I lifted these facts to share from the End Fat Talk website (http://www.endfattalk.org), and they can be accessed by clicking on the 'stats' button.

81% of 10 year olds are afraid of being fat. 51% of 9 and 10 year old girls feel better about themselves if they are on a diet.(Mellin LM, Irwin CE & Scully S, 1992)

Barbie, the best selling fashion doll in the world, has unattainable and unhealthy body proportions. If she were alive, her waist would be smaller than patients with anorexia nervosa, and she would be unable to menstruate. Research has shown that very young girls (ages 5-7) who are exposed to Barbie have lower body esteem and want a thinner body than they have.(Dittmar, Halliwell, & Ive, 2006)

IN THE UNITED STATES...

More than 2/3 of women ages 18-25 would rather be mean or stupid than be fat and over 50% would rather be hit by a truck.(Martin, 2007)

1 in 4 women have avoided engaging in a physical activity or sport because they feel badly about the way they look.(Dove, Beyond Stereotypes: Rebuilding the Foundation of Beauty Beliefs)

According to a national survey, 60% of adolescent girls are currently trying to lose weight(1) and more than 50% have engaged in unhealthy weight control behaviors such as fasting, skipping meals, vomiting or smoking in the past year(2). Girls who use dangerous weight control behaviors like vomiting are more likely to attempt suicide(3).(1)http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/yrbs/pdf/yrbss07_mmwr.pdf; (2)Neumark-Sztainer, Story, Hannan, Perry, & Irving, 2002; (3)Crow, Eisenberg, Story, & Neumark-Sztainer, 2008)

Adolescent girls who are less satisfied with their bodies engage in less physical activity.(Neumark-Sztainer, Paxton, Hannan, Haines, & Story, 2006)

Fashion models are thinner than 98% of women. (Smolak, 1996)

As many as 10 million females are suffering from anorexia or bulimia. That's more than are suffering from breast cancer. (National Eating Disorder Association)

AROUND THE WORLD...

Eating disorders are as prevalent in Italy as in the United States. (Favaro, Ferrara, & Santonastaso, 2003)

On a list of items including suicide, depression and drugs, Australian girls ranked body image as their most concerning issue. (National Survey of Young Australians, 2007)

63% of women in Brazil have considered having cosmetic surgery to enhance their appearance. (Dove, Beyond Stereotypes: Rebuilding the Foundation of Beauty Beliefs)

After three years of Western television, the rate of purging in Fijian girls went from 0% to 11% and 74% of Fijian girls now report feeling too big or too fat at least sometimes. (Becker, Burwell, Herzog, Hamburg, & Gilman, 2002)

Percentage of girls in one Israeli study who are...afraid of becoming fat: 63% and who are unhappy with their figure: 87%. (Latzer & Shatz, 2001)

Half of all women in Japan have avoided going to the doctor because they feel badly about their looks and more than half have avoided going on a job interview for the same reason. (Dove, Beyond Stereotypes: Rebuilding the Foundation of Beauty Beliefs)

When given a range of body types to choose from, 12% of Mexican girls selected the anorexic body size as their ideal body shape. (Austin & Smith, 2008)

Almost 1/3 of women in Saudi Arabia report crying because they feel badly about the way they look. (Dove, Beyond Stereotypes: Rebuilding the Foundation of Beauty Beliefs)

Click HERE for more detailed information on Fat Talk Free Week or visit www.endfattalk.org.