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Knowing Your BodyObservations :Discussion :Conclusion :Key message :Suggested activities :Lean female images and strong and lean male images are common to all societiesand body image concerns have become widespread among adolescents.For girls, “the way I look” is the most important indicator of self worth, while for boys, self worthis based on abilities and looks.Puberty for boys brings characteristic-height, speed, broadness and strength.Puberty for girls brings with it characteristics which one different as girls generally get rounderand have increased body fat. These changes can serve to further enhance dissatisfaction amonggirls.Generally, early development for girls and late development for boys present the greatestchallenges to healthy body image.Poor body image is strongly associated with low self-esteem and low self worth, bothof which can severely limit the potential for an adolescent to succeed. Teachers and parents mustdeal with adolescents with great care and patience. Students need direction which may beprovided by adults around them.Over concern with body image and shape can lead to restrictive dieting andunhealthy weight control methods which may lead to potentially dangerous disordered eatingbehaviors.Ask students to answer the following for self assessment.• Do you look in the mirror and focus on your positive features and not the negative ones?• Do you say something nice to your friends about how they look?• Do you think about your positive traits that are not related to appearance?• Do you read magazines with a critical eye to find how photographers make models look theway they do?• Do you want to lose weight? (Be realistic in your expectations and aim for gradual change).14