Body Image Resources for Concerned Coaches, Parents and Athletes

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Information and action tips for those dealing with body image concerns in athletes of all ages.

The last couple of years have been rough. I’ve had sooo many calls from parents and high school and travel team coaches for body image and eating disorder resources. Young athletes of all genders are being hit hard by ideals that are impossible to adhere to. Please use these resources; almost all of them are open access or available for use under the Creative Commons license. 

Information and Tips

National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA)

  • 10 Steps to Positive Body Image. This is a list of 10 things a person can focus on for healthier ways to look at their body. I’ve used this with athletes, usually by making them write down as many things as they can do (#1), either as a physical skill (jump high) or a cognitive/emotional skill (memorize easily, stay calm under pressure).  I also like #5, although that’s a lot harder when you can’t pick who you see at school every day, and #8.
  • The Body Project. This isn’t directly useful, but parts of it might apply. 

Other Health Organizations

A female looks in the mirror, grimaces, and tries to flatten her belly.
Build a solid, positive body image by focusing on what you can do, caring for others and carefully crafting a healthy, body positive social media strategy.

Specific Information on Boys and Men

Key points of interest for boys and men

  • Boys don’t often have the vocabulary to describe what they’re experiencing or ask for what they need. 
  • Watch for behavior changes, like isolating, quitting favorite activities, or taking their own food everywhere.
  • Some of the major underlying causes of body image issues are anxiety and stress, either from isolation, bullying or trauma.

Actions to help any athlete

  • Focus on healthier ways to view the body. Have the athlete write out a list of things their body can do, both physical skills (jumping high) and cognitive/emotional skills (memorize easily, stay calm under pressure). Praise achievements, not looks.
  • Focus on ways to help other people
    • Older members of a team mentor younger/newer teammates
    • Team volunteer opportunities
    • Compete “for” a cause (Tap Out Cancer, Team World Vision for clean water) or someone the team is supporting (fellow student with a chronic disease)
  • Make sure the teen in question knows what puberty looks like, what normal development is, and just how much time and effort it takes to get and maintain that perfect body. Discuss the consequences of that effort, both positive and negative. 
  • Establish healthy eating habits and patterns, with regular schedules, plenty of whole foods and, yes, time for treats and engaging in social events with friends and family. 
  • Use positive language and promote body positivity.

Social Media Strategies

  • Use positive language and promote body positivity. Yes, again. This is super helpful.
  • Talk about media messages and critical thinking. Monitor social media use as a family. Which messages break down confidence or show bodies being objectified? Which ones build confidence by supporting achievements and talking about actions, not looks? 
  • Have a personal – or family – social media strategy.
    • Decide which apps are okay to use and which to avoid
    • Curate the feed to show positive or fun images; eliminate influencers and those that make you feel bad
  • Two tips to think about before posting on social media (from the TED talk below)
    • Delay posting for 48 hours to both be in the moment and ensure that you’re not doing anything stupid.
    • Post with purpose. How does your post help or lift up those around you? Or does it hurt them?

Resources

Assessment Tools

  • PsychGuides.com: Male Body Image and the Average Athlete. This site has a variety of comparisons between different pro athletes and regular guys, as well as regular guys from different countries around the world. This is useful for many reasons, partly to show that pro athletes are at the far right end of the bell curve, most college athletes can’t compete with pro athletes, and partly to show that people in the US aren’t really that healthy so eating well can provide an edge. The images are freely available for use. 
  • Weight Pressures in Sport Assessment Tool. This was designed for college athletes, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work in high school athletes. It’s fast – only 14 questions – and easy to score, plus it provides info on both appearance and pressure from coaches and teammates. It’s freely available to use under the Creative Commons license. 
  • Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. 10 questions, easy to grade, and fine for HS students. Scores range from 0-30, 15-25 is considered normal self-esteem. It’s >50 years old, provided for free in many places online, so I think it’s available for use. 

Books, worksheets and lesson plans

  • Being You: The Body Image Book for Boys. Good for boys 12+. Probably a hard sell to get the athletes to read, but might be a good resource to have around. There’s a corresponding version for girls, as well as many other options from other authors.
  • Positive Psychology: 3 Positive Body Image Activities and Worksheets. 
  • The Body Image Movement. This Australian organization has a set of lesson plans and resources for teens.  
  • TED talk on the value of a private life.  It has two guidelines for posting on social media.
    • Two day delay – whatever you want to post, wait 48 hours. It allows you to be both present in the moment and not post something stupid. 
    • Post with purpose – why are you sharing? How does it serve the people you love – or does it hurt them? (Or, how does it help or hurt the poster?)

Journal Articles

Open Access Journal Articles

If you are interested in discussing any of the above with Dr. Schubert, please contact her.  

If the above info has you interested in setting some goals, check out this blog post on different types of goals and how they’re used. Behavior change support is essential for many people to make more than a short, token effort at changing their thinking or behaviors. For hungry athletes, or those who aren’t sure why they would, here some great reasons to snack. If weight loss is really a goal, think about these two ideas: pros and cons of weight loss on athletic performance, and top nine tips for teen athlete weight loss.   

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