We live in a society that worships extremes and perfection, where images of healthy normal sized women are photoshopped and distorted to have thinner waists, longer legs and perfectly toned arms. The subtle messages we are subjected to from a young age mean that children grow up unnecessarily worrying about their weight.

I remember being about 10 years old playing on the monkey bars at school and a conversation where all the girls were comparing how much they weighed.

Whether the actual number at the time was 27kg or 29kg, I strongly remember the temptation and pressure to lie and say a smaller number because for reasons beyond my understanding that meant I was better.

And that was over 15 years before the internet arrived and no access to magazines!

A warped perception of body image is almost the norm these days rather than the exception. I saw an interesting post recently showing how the ideal female silhouette has changed in the last 100 years.

I haven't seen a male equivalent but imagine it has a similar trend of change. For today's western women it's all about being thin and lean while our men are subjected to messages saying it's all about being bulked up and muscular.

Last year I went shopping with a friend looking for a pair of trousers (something I struggle to find that fit). While helping me look she asked what size I need so I said a 10 (which I generally am unless there's vanity sizing going on).

She looked at me with disbelief and exclaimed, 'you're not a size ten!' not believing me. Her visual perception of me was that I should have been a few sizes smaller. But what's the point of struggling to get into clothes that don't fit right all for the sake of a (meaningless) number?

The same thing when it comes to weight. Numbers on the scale don't necessarily match up to how lean someone is or isn't.

That's where the whole muscle density versus fat density scenario comes into play.

What I'm trying to say is that what we see and believe rarely matches up to our expectations when it comes to weight and size. Our expectations have been warped by the unrealistically photoshopped images that we see day in day out. This body dysmorphia thing needs to change.

We need more people crying out in dispute when their body is digitally altered.

We need more parents saying NO to having their preschoolers and primary school aged children's schools photos 'digitally enhanced'.

We come in different shapes and sizes, and it would be physically impossible for everyone to meet our current cultural 'ideals' of perfection.

We need to reset our perception of what's normal, achievable and realistic when it comes to health, weight and body size and get rid of body dysmorphia.

Gemma

Body dysmorphia