A registered nutritionist has cautioned parents to be very careful about how they discuss body weight with their children.
A registered nutritionist has cautioned parents to be very careful about how they discuss body weight with their children.
It doesn’t matter how old you are, what shape you are in or how confident you are in the rest of your life, issues with body image are one of those universal issues that can unite us all.
Whether we’re trying to lose weight, gain muscle or concerned we’re too skinny, how we view ourselves and getting comfortable in our own skins is something that can be felt across all ages and genders.
It’s something Claire Turnbull took years to overcome. Speaking to Francesca Rudkin and Louise Ayrey on The Little Things, the Herald’s health and wellbeing podcast, the nutrionist said that when she was growing up, her mum was obsessed with diets and going to Weight Watchers, and as a young girl she’d get dragged along to the meetings.
“I was just going because there was no one else to look after me. And I think she thought I was just twiddling my thumbs. But obviously I was listening to all those messages and seeing people be weighed and shamed and congratulated if there was a change in the number on the scales and a change in the centimetres and the way that they looked.
“And, subconsciously, obviously, this kind of ended up creating an issue for me because I realised that actually people treat you differently depending on the shape and size of your body. And because I was bullied at school and I really struggled with my self-esteem, I ended up using food in a very negative way.”
Registered nutritionist Claire Turnbull.
Turnbull said she ended up having bulimia and issues with binge-eating for 10 years. While she no longer has those issues at 41, she knows they won’t go away - it’s now about managing them. That experience fuelled her decision to take up a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics and later a diploma in Positive Psychology.
“All those different things, they bubble away in our subconscious. The key thing to actually do is to notice when you’re doing these things to yourself, because that’s the big thing, awareness is the first step of change for anybody. If you can catch yourself saying something about your body or thinking something about your body, even catching yourself doing that and noticing is the first step.”
She likens it to driving a car - it’s not something you can learn to do overnight, but once you’ve got a handle on it, you are able to just do it without thinking.
One of the biggest challenges for parents, though, is helping their children navigate their issues. With increasingly easy access to social media, children today have new ways of judging themselves against their peers. And it’s not an issue unique to girls, with Turnbull saying she has noticed how ripped superheroes like Batman have already got her 6-year-old son thinking about needing to be muscular.
However, Turnbull said it’s hugely important for parents not to make direct comments to their children about their weight, as that can have lasting consequences.
“Unless you’re a very skilled person, those conversations never work out well if you’re being really direct with your child, unless you are very qualified and know what you’re doing. Despite the best intentions, the risk is quite high. Therefore, it’s just working around that in a positive way as a family.”
This includes such things as finding subtle ways to encourage exercise as a family rather than singling someone out, and parents needing to be more conscious of what they are feeding their children.
“One of the biggest things with children is a lot are very good at regulating their appetite. It’s us who have often overridden it with what we’ve taught them and the messages that we’ve given them about food.”
Listen to the full episode of The Little Things for more from Claire Turnbull on body image, from embracing your body’s flaws to why eating is more a symptom than the cause, and the importance of self-acceptance.
The Little Things is available on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. The series is hosted by broadcaster Francesca Rudkin and health researcher Louise Ayrey. New episodes are available every Saturday.
