We've all seen this image - a slim 'healthy' body filled with fruit and veg and a big rounded body full of 'unhealthy' food. It's a powerful image and at first glance it seems to support the old favourite adage "you are what you eat". But if we just take a moment to really think about what we're looking at and what it represents; it's actually entirely inaccurate and potentially damaging to young impressionable minds.
Which is what led me to writing this blog... my 9 yr old daughter showing me this image I've seen 1000 times as a representation of what someone should and shouldn't eat to be healthy. What if she took it literally? And in a world where we're bombarded with nutrition facts and fads it's so tempting to fall for this. Seems simple enough right? It's not! Nor is is healthy. Physically or mentally. During my 15yrs in mental health I came across so many people with eating disorders battling with such unhealthy thinking. Anyone heard of orthorexia? They literally lived their lives by such images and beliefs like "if I only eat apples and lettuce I will be healthy and happy" Of course I am not exclusively blaming these images but what I'm saying is that they do not help and are part of a bigger problem! Some of the things in the 'unhealthy' body can and should be part of a healthy diet. A delicious piece of cake, pizza, chips... all things I occasionally eat as do all of the healthy people I know. So let's not demonise any one food group but instead look at the messages we're sending about food and how we can help our children develop a healthy relationship with food. So on that note, I wish you all a very lovely Tuesday evening while I go and have a cup of tea and muffin with my daughter.
