The Body Positive works with college and high school leadership teams to create Body Positive environments where students can be free from obsession with physical perfection and can focus instead on intellectual and creative pursuits.

If you are a college student, or staff member of a college or high school, and wish to create a Body Positive program on your campus, email Elizabeth Scott, Training Director or Connie Sobczak, Executive Director for more information about bringing The Body Positive to your school.

To be inspired by Body Positive young women and men, watch The Body Positive Speaks.

The Problem:

At The Body Positive, we are especially concerned with the rate of eating and body image problems among young women and teen girls. According to a UCLA psychologist, up to 60 percent of college students now suffer from disordered eating. Other studies report that 25 percent of college women engage in purging as a weight-management technique. More than one-half of teenage girls use unhealthy weight control behaviors such as skipping meals, fasting, smoking cigarettes, vomiting, and taking laxatives. Based on our experience, we know that vast numbers of students struggling with these issues never seek help, pointing to the need for improved outreach and prevention services on campus. Too many talented young women are losing their formative years--and their potential--to the obsession with perfecting their bodies.

The Solution:

The Body Positive collaborates with universities and high schools to create and implement strategic plans to provide straightforward and sustainable responses to eating disorders and body image concerns among students. Strategic plans are structured around The Body Positive's Intuitive Health™ Model, and utilize the four core competencies we have identified that address the spectrum of concerns from poor body image and low self-esteem to clinically diagnosed eating disorders. It is our goal to assist schools in developing and implementing a plan that will both prevent the development of eating disorders in the general student population and effectively identify and facilitate treatment for students who are already suffering from eating disorders. The Body Positive's Model can be applied to all levels of intervention on campus from prevention to treatment, allowing all members of the community to be on the same page in addressing the problem.

The Body Positive Model is focused on the development of student leadership. Research has shown that providing leadership in eating disorders prevention is one of the most effective interventions available to reduce eating disorder symptoms and promote resiliency in women and girls.

Please contact Elizabeth Scott for information on bringing The Body Positive to your campus.

To learn more about our other services, click on Workshops and Lectures, Personal Coaching, and Continuing Education.