The Body Project

Do you like what you see in the mirror?

All female students are invited to participate in The Body Project, a program at University of Waterloo that is aimed at helping young women feel better about their bodies!

More details

• Attend two 2-hour sessions, designed to improve your body image. 
  Sign up on LEADS.
• This program has been found to improve body satisfaction, reduce risk for eating disorders, and improve school and social functioning for hundreds of young women across North America.  
• For more information, contact Sandra Gibson (sandra.gibson@uwaterloo.ca) or Laura Dziuba (laura. dziuba@uwaterloo.ca).

What is The Body Project?

The Body Project is a peer-led body acceptance-based program that was designed to help adolescent girls and young women resist sociocultural pressures to conform to the thin-ideal and reduce their pursuit of thinness. The conceptual basis for The Body Project is that if girls and young women voluntarily argue against the thin ideal, this will result in a reduced subscription to this ideal - thus decreasing risk for eating disorders, disordered eating patterns and negative body image.

The program follows a 2 x 2 format – two, two-hour sessions, with one week between the two sessions. It involves a series of verbal, written, and behavioural exercises in which participants learn to question and critique the thin ideal.

Note

This is a program for women to help build a healthy body image. It is not intended for students who are actively struggling with an eating disorder. If you believe you are struggling with an eating disorder, please contact a regulated health professional at Health Services (519-888-4096) or Counselling Services (519-888-4567 ext. 42655).