I'm fat. I'm too skinny. I'd be happy if I were taller, shorter, had curly hair, straight hair, a smaller nose, bigger muscles, longer legs.

Is there something wrong with me?

Do any of these statements sound familiar? Are you used to putting yourself down? If so, you're not alone. As a teen, you're going through a ton of changes in your body, and as your body changes, so does your image of yourself. Read on to learn more about how your body image affects your self-esteem and how you can develop a healthy body image.

Why Are Self-Esteem and Body Image Important?
You may have heard the term self-esteem on talk shows or seen it in your favorite magazine. But what does it mean? Self-esteem involves how much a person values herself, and appreciates her own worth. Self-esteem is important because when you feel good about yourself, you enjoy life more.

Although self-esteem applies to every aspect of how you see yourself, it is often mentioned in terms of appearance or body image. Body image is how you see and feel about your physical appearance. We tend to relate self-esteem to body image for several reasons. First of all, most people care about how other people see them. Unfortunately, many people judge others by things like the clothes they wear, the shape of their body, or the way they wear their hair. If a person feels like he or she looks different than others, then body image and self-esteem may be affected negatively.

Teens with a poor body image may think negative thoughts like, "I'm fat, I'm not pretty enough, I'm not strong enough."

Updated and reviewed by: Kim Rutherford, MD
Date reviewed: October 2001
Originally reviewed by: Jonathan Schneider, DO