Help Your Teens Battle Image Issues

July 6, 2005 -- -- It's no shock that many teenage girls think they're overweight, but a new survey by Teen People reveals a surprising source of pressure to diet -- parents.

Of the 1,500 girls ages 13 to 18 surveyed by the magazine, 28 percent said the greatest pressure to diet came from parents. Friends were pointed to by 15 percent of the respondents and only 7 percent said boyfriends piled on the pressure to look thin.

"You always think that the parents are going to be the ones to encourage self-acceptance for their kids, but in reality, we find that a lot of parents are actually projecting their own issues onto their kids," said Amy Barnett, managing editor of Teen People.

"I think it's incredibly important to let it go if your child is a couple of pounds overweight," Barnett added. "Encourage them to live a healthy lifestyle."

More than half of the girls surveyed said they thought they weighed too much and 58 percent said movie stars make them the most insecure about their bodies. But the influence of parents was undeniable.

"My mom has a bigger influence than everyone else," said Alyssa Tani, 13. "I think if she turned around and started saying to me, 'You're fat. You really need to lose the weight.' I think I'd feel really bad about myself."

"I think it's just as important as alcohol and drugs when teenagers become obsessed about their body image to the point where they no longer eat or they eat all the wrong food," said Pat Tani, Alyssa's mom.

Parents have reason to worry. Recent research on teen suicide reveals that teens who see themselves as either too skinny or too fat were twice as likely to attempt suicide as teens with normal body images.

The survey also revealed cultural differences in body image.

According to the survey, 51 percent of black girls are totally satisfied with their bodies, compared to only 31 percent of white girls and 30 percent of Hispanic girls.

"I think within the black community you'll find that women are much less obsessed about their body," Barnett said. "I think that it's a culture that values a fuller figure."

But Trenise Murdock, 13, who is black, still feels pressure to stay thin, claiming it is important to attract guys.