Diet and Nutrition

Weight

08/11/2008 05:19PM

Question:

I am a 13 year old girl. I am 5`3" and 113 pounds. Everybody says it`s a healthy weight, but I feel overweight and that my stomach sticks out too much. I have tried everything. I work out and do cruches and try to eat healthy, but nothing seems to make me feel better about my shape or make it look any better. Can you help?

Answer:

At the risk of being offensive, this is likely a body image issue rather than a nutritional or body weight issue. When we are going through adolescence, there are many pressures and events that affect our feelings of strength and health. It is best to seek the help of an unbiased third party to talk through what sorts of activities might help you “feel better about your shape”. Females are notoriously inaccurate about how their bodies look! At age 13, this is a critical issue to grapple with as these sorts of feelings lead to unhealthy eating and exercise behaviors that are abusive to your body.

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Response by:

Jackie Buell, PhD, RD/LD, ATC, LAT
Director of Sports Nutrition
Department of Human Nutrition
College of Education and Human Ecology
The Ohio State University