Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to congratulate the member for Chisholm on bringing this very important motion to the House today. Eating disorders develop around body image. Body image refers to a person’s perception of their body as well as their emotions and attitudes towards it, which can be positive or negative. Many Australian women—and, to a lesser extent, men—have a negative body image. This is closely linked to how a person feels about themselves and their quality of life. Poor body image has been found to be related to feelings of depression and engagement in unhealthy eating practices. Influences on a person’s body image include the way men’s and women’s bodies are portrayed in the media via unrealistic images of beauty and emphasis on dieting, modelling by parents, childhood teasing and stigmatisation of overweight and obesity problems, amongst other things.

Body image is a serious clinical issue, as perceiving oneself as fat is one of the criteria for anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders. Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder which has been shown to impact on both men and women’s behaviour as well as the behaviour of children. It is known that children as young as seven—or even five, as stated by the member for Chisholm—can have body image disturbances leading to the development of eating disorders. In particular, when girls reach puberty it can have an emphasis on body image. Some girls are proud of their womanly shape, while others do all they can to try to stop this natural process by covering up their curves and undertaking severe dieting.

This internalisation, or acceptance of the ‘thin ideal’, is a risk factor for body image disturbance. It can lead to the development of anorexia nervosa, which is far more entrenched in women. For women there is greater pressure to live up to the thin ideal than the ‘muscular ideal’ represents for men, even though dissatisfaction with body image has increased for men, possibly due to the change in representation of the ideal male ‘metrosexual’, who has a fit, slim, toned body, which, as with women, can be achieved by only a few men. These are unrealistic expectations and cannot be reached without hiring a personal trainer and strict dieting.

Influences on a person’s body image can be positive or negative depending on factors such as family, with the mother dieting and making negative comments about her body; peer influences, such as teasing those who are overweight and perceiving defects in others’ appearances; community attitudes to eating and weight; and the representation of beauty in the media. A person is ‘beautiful’ if they are thin, and if they are overweight they are much less of a person.

Education through schools with antibullying policies is a more positive influence, as are parent modelling exercises, healthy eating, a focus on personal qualities and peer acceptance of others despite their appearance. Early intervention is the key to overcoming body image disturbances and the resulting depression, anxiety and eating disorders. Doctors and other health professionals, teachers and parents need to recognise early warning signs of body image disturbance and identify where help is available. More access to mental health professionals is also important. The message from sufferers of eating disorders is that it is not a choice but a serious psychological illness. No one person or thing can be blamed; it is a combination of social values, beliefs, personality traits and environment.

One size does not fit all, and a purely medical approach is not as effective in dealing with eating disorders as a more varied approach. Eating disorders need specialised and individual treatment options. It is vital that individuals be separated from the illness and that the treatment they undergo shows them respect and upholds their rights. As access to effective treatment is vital, funding must be made available for the increasing number of sufferers. (Time expired)

See this speech in context