Just last month, the American Academy of Pediatrics released new guidelines addressing how to prevent both obesity and eating disorders.
Childhood and teen obesity is a serious problem, associated with depression and poor self-esteem as well as later-in-life disease. Eating disorders, while not nearly as common, also are a serious problem — and most teens who develop one didn't start out obese. Instead, the AAP report said often they started out misinterpreting those prevention messages about healthy eating, eliminating foods and calories they don't need to.
Leibowitz, the counselor, would see girls as early as middle school skipping lunch, or wearing baggy clothes to hide their shape.
And while body image problems and eating disorders tend to affect mostly girls, Swedler cautioned it sometimes is a problem for boys, too.
