It has been argued that skinny people shouldnt be allowed to be models, because they make youngsters feel bad about themselves. The Evening Mail commissioned young investigators from Children's Express to find out what schoolchildren themselves think about the weight issue.
| This morning I had Frosties and its been playing on my mind that Ive eaten that. |
Theres no such thing as a typical teenager. A lot of girls we interviewed were worried about their weight but there were many who were happy with how they looked.
The media has a part to play because they dont give clear guidance about the proper way to eat and television programmes are full of people on stupid diets. There should be more encouragement and advice about how to eat healthily.
The government is wrong to try and blame it all on the media though. Peer pressure also influences the way many young people feel about their bodies. It may often be said that personalities are more important than bodies, but its depressing how rarely people put that view into practice.
One girl we spoke to said: "I was anorexic and it took me a long time to get over it. There was a time when I didnt eat at all. It got so bad that I started passing out because I just wasnt eating enough.
Im nine stone now which is really heavy but I feel happier with how I am."
Asha Adutwim, 15, from Selly Oak
Im happy with my weight because Im exactly the shape I want to be. I exercise twice a week, I do running, weights and visit the gym. Ive never dieted and if I had a teenage child I wouldnt encourage them to diet unless they were overweight.
Id like to be taller, about five foot six or seven but I dont believe there is an ideal figure, Kate Moss and Dawn French are both quite beautiful. Some of my friends are happy with their weight but Ive got one friend who is plumpish and she thinks she needs to go on a diet but she doesnt really.
If guys went out with someone because of their weight theyd be stupid because it shouldnt matter but I do get paranoid when I walk past a group of guys because I always worry about what I look like. You have to look good to impress. There was one boy who said hed go out with me if I put on a bit of weight but I wasnt interested in him anyway.
Fat people should be happy with their bodies because it shouldnt really affect anybody else but if they want to go on a diet then they should because its their own life. I think people go anorexic because of peer pressure and stuff. They see models in magazines and they want to be skinny like that.
Kerry Welch, 14, from Rednal
Im not really happy with my weight at present. Im thinner that I used to be but I want to get thinner.
Im not sure why I want to be thinner, I think its because I care a lot about what people think of me. Maybe its stereotypes, you know, like actresses with tiny little figures and flat, tight stomachs.
If I feel really fat or Im wearing something that makes me look fat when I walk past a group of guys, I just hide my head or try and walk the other way. Boys do put pressure on you because they think you should look like supermodels.
Being overweight doesnt run in my family. My mums got a gorgeous figure and Ive seen pictures of my nan and other relatives and theyve all got tiny little size ten and eight figures.
If Im still not happy with how I look when Im older I would definitely consider plastic surgery. Usually when I diet, I just try not to eat and do a lot of sit-ups, which I know is wrong.
I try not to let the teasing get to me but I think thats why I drastically lost weight earlier this year and ended up in hospital for two weeks. I went down to about six stone and I was put on a drip. I was really ill and looked pale and horrible but I still felt that my stomach was flabby. I had to walk around the ward for exercise in hospital and I used to say to my mum Are people looking at me? Do I look fat?
Lately Ive been eating like a pig but I feel guilty about it. Usually I dont eat breakfast and tea which I know I should but this morning I had Frosties and its been playing on my mind that Ive eaten that.
But if fashion changed tomorrow I would put on weight, I like being in with the right thing to do.
About the team
This article was produced by Samantha Whelan, Chloe Sheppard, Joanne Taylor, Leena Chakraborty, all aged 14, and Ben Poch, 13. A version of this article was published in the Birmingham Evening Mail.
