In my roles as a psychologist, researcher, and author, I talk with a lot of people about body image. These are the top-five questions I was asked by reporters, podcasters, parents, educators, and other psychologists this year.

1. What does a healthy body image look like?

In a culture that praises unachievable beauty ideals and offers a never-ending supply of products to “fix” ourselves, it can be hard to know if anyone is satisfied with their bodies, and if so, what that looks like.

A positive body image does not mean loving your body or appearance every single day. (Just like a generally happy person can still have a bad day and sometimes feels sad.) For me, a healthy body image means being accepting, respectful, and appreciative of our bodies and attending to our physical and psychological health (i.e., not restricting ourselves from necessary nutrients). To obtain a healthy body image, we must resist media messages suggesting that we should be aspiring to “perfection.” We should do our best to value our bodies as vessels holding everything that we are.

What is one step adults can take to help young people develop positive body images?

As a first step, reflect on yourself as a role model: Are you demonstrating a positive body image for the young people in your life? Or are you........

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