Five-year-olds seek diets as body image issues hit younger Aussies

A new program designed to tackle body image issues in Australia is helping to shift the dial on how primary-school aged kids feel about their bodies. See how.

More than 110,000 preimary-school aged children have participated in the Butterfly Body Bright program. Picture: Supplied

A third of five-year-old girls are wanting to take up dieting behaviours and about 50 per cent of preadolescent girls are experiencing body dissatisfaction, research shows.

A new program, by The Butterfly Foundation, is working to combat this by providing Australian primary-school aged children and their school communities with resources and support to address the risks.

Since launching in 2021, the federally-supported Butterfly Body Bright program has reached more than 110,000 students across more than 400 Australian schools.

A pilot survey showed significant improvement in children's’ body image after just one lesson, with more than half (54 per cent) of students reporting an immediate increase in how happy they felt about their body shape and how they look.

More than a quarter (27 per cent) reported an immediate increase in their intention to seek help if they were having a hard time, and 23 per cent increased confidence to deal with appearance teasing or bullying if they saw it happen.

“The lesson made me feel grateful for my body”, a Year 6 student said after her lesson.

Majority of school children who have taken part in the Butterfly Body Bright program have reported feeling more positive about the way they look. Picture: Supplied

Body dissatisfaction can contribute to negative physical and mental health, and poor social outcomes. It is also a significant risk factor in the development of eating disorders, the Foundation reports.

“Body dissatisfaction is starting early and it’s having a profound impact on our children and the way they engage in their world every day,” Dr Stephanie Damiano, body image researcher and Butterfly Body Bright manager said.

Dr Damiano’s research found about 50 per cent of girls aged eight to 11 years old reported body dissatisfaction with majority wanting to be thinner, and a third (34 per cent) of five-year-old girls wanted to engage in dieting, which contributed to the establishment of the Body Bright program.

Dr Stephanie Damiano, Butterfly Body Bright manager and body image researcher. Picture: Supplied

Dr Damiano said the program aimed to create a more supportive and positive relationship regarding body image.

“Schools are in a critical position to change the way children are experiencing their body and everyone in the school community can play a role,” she said.

“Involving educators and families is a crucial element to the success of this program, as many children look to them as role models. Their attitudes, behaviours, and language are often mirrored by children and can have a significant impact on how they see their own bodies.”

A survey teachers involved in Body Bright revealed the program was helping to fill a gap in educators’ training on the issue, with 90 per cent reporting an improvement in their role modelling of positive body image in front of their students.

Deputy school principal Yasmin Jerovich said the program had a positive impact on the students in her school.

“Based on my daily interactions with students, I believe body image issues are a common struggle among primary school students, and in some cases even as young as pre-primary,” she said.

“Programs such as Butterfly’s Body Bright Program are very important. Programs such as these should be an integral part of the health and wellbeing curriculum and should be explicitly addressed alongside personal and social capabilities.”