Look in the mirror. Do you like what you see?

For most American women, the answer is "no." Surveys have found that 80 percent of women are dissatisfied with their appearance. The greatest source of that dissatisfaction: their weight. Many women - 63 percent according to one study - point to weight as the key factor affecting how they feel about themselves, more than even family or career.

Women whose sense of self-worth is directly tied to the number that appears when they step on a scale risk physical and emotional consequences. Self-image may be one of many causes of eating disorders, which develop for a variety of reasons.

Adrienne Youdim, MD, Medical Director of Cedars-Sinai Center for Weight Loss says common eating disorders include:

  • Anorexia Nervosa - Refusal to maintain body weight at or above the minimally normal level for one's age and height due to an intense fear of gaining weight or becoming overweight.
  • Bulimia Nervosa - Recurrent episodes of binge eating and inappropriate compensatory behaviors to prevent weight gain (e.g., self-inducing vomiting, laxative abuse and use of diuretics).
  • Binge Eating Disorder - Affecting 3 percent of the population, this is the most common eating disorder. It involves recurrent episodes of binge eating, but is not associated with regular use of inappropriate compensatory behaviors.
  • Night Eating Syndrome - At least 50 percent of daily caloric intake is consumed by snacking after the last evening meal, often during awakenings (getting up after having fallen asleep).
Whether your body is being starved or overfed, the physical consequences can be serious and even life threatening. Women who have an "I-am-what-I-weigh" mindset may find themselves in a cycle of negative feelings. As psychological literature has shown, women with negative body images are more likely to have low self-esteem and self-confidence, as well as higher levels of anxiety and depression. As a result, overall psychological well-being can suffer.

Healthy Weight, Healthy Mind

Women who maintain a healthy weight tend to have better physical and emotional health.

As Dr. Youdim points out, the physical upsides include a lower risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, breast cancer, heart attack and stroke.

Emotionally, a positive body image - feeling comfortable with and accepting your body - bolsters self-esteem, strengthens self-image, increases self-confidence as well as decreases incidence of depression and anxiety.

Getting There

The first step toward achieving mind-body balance is weight stabilization. Care for yourself by integrating good nutrition and physical activity into your daily life.

While you are more than what you eat, what you eat does play a critical role in maintaining a healthy weight. Dr. Youdim suggests:

  • For a weight loss of one pound per week, limit daily caloric intake to between 1,000 and 1,200 calories
  • Eat at least five servings of fruits and vegatables per day
  • Eliminate trans fat from your diet (often found in breads, pastries, cookies, chips, fast food, fried food, margarine and shortening)
  • Incorporate polyunsaturated fats into your diet (safflower, sesame, sunflower seeds, corn and soybeans; also oils made from these foods)
  • Incorporate monosaturated fats into your diet (canola oil, olive oil, peanut oil and avocados)
  • Replace red/dark meat with white meets and vegetable proteins
  • Eat one to two servings of oily fish, such as salmon, weekly
  • Avoid high calorie sodas, fruit drinks and coffee drinks
  • Reduce portion sizes
Exercising regularly is also key to maintaining a healthy weight and to enjoying the physical and emotional bonuses that come with it. Regular exercise reduces the incidence of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, colon cancer, breast cancer, depression and anxiety, and may boost memory function. Even thin people need to exercise to maintain good health. In fact, physical inactivity is as great a risk to health as obesity.

In addition to eating right and exercising, thinking nurturing thoughts can help, too. For example, understand that:
  • Your worth as a human being is not measured by your dress size
  • Healthy bodies come in a variety of shapes and sizes
  • The ways that the media portrays women generally do not reflect real women in society. Perfect bodies are the exception, not the rule.
Resources at Cedars-Sinai

For more information on women's health matters, any of the programs and services listed, or a referral to a Cedars-Sinai physician or program, call 1-800-CEDARS-1 (1-800-233-2771)