Echo Boom

As I lay in bed this morning listening to the news, I must admit feeling a little bit disheartened when I learned that many girls, some as young as nine years old are now using steroids. What’s more, these girls aren’t just using steroids to look more fit but as a means to control their weight... This is usually the moment where I put my hands in the air and say ‘what is the world coming to’ and my poor husband is left listening to me as I generally take the next few moments to go on an appropriate rant.

Today, however, I’ve decided to share a few thoughts, as the issue of body image is a serious one. This is a concern that is by no means new, yet what has changed is that kids are starting to worry about their bodies at younger and younger ages. What’s more, this issue, that is traditionally associated with girls, is now having an impact on young boys. Many ads found in teen magazines such as teen people, teen cosmo, or teen vogue show young tweens and teens who are impossibly thin and buff. This coupled with the specific tactics used by marketers who have spent significant time and resources mapping the inner workings of the tween landscape; leaves kids with even more social pressures and anxieties then ever before.

Alissa Quart, author of Branded also points out that there is a noticeable increase in the number of young boys who are taking steroids. One of the most popular body building websites for tweens and teens is teenbodybuilding.com. Here kids can read testimonials about other tweens and teens who have successfully ‘pumped themselves up’. If they like what they read they can purchase any number of suppliments such as creatine, anabolic flavones or various amino acid mixtures to ensure faster results for their workouts. Oh yeah and one other thing – after doing a bit of research, I found out that none of these suppliments have gone through any medical testing to assure that they are indeed safe with no side effects…