Bringing body confidence education to US schools

Dear Friend,

Today’s young people spend more than eight hours each day on their phones and computers. They compare their appearance to edited and filtered images of people they see on their social media sites. 77% of adolescents report “body image distress,” feeling dissatisfied with their own appearance. We know from the research that having a negative perception of their own bodies leads to serious mental health consequences such as eating disorders, depression, anxiety, risky sexual behavior, substance abuse, and low self-esteem.

BE REAL creates resources to help young people with their body image. We have evidence-based workshops for adults and curricula for youth that are designed to help children develop a healthy relationship to food and their bodies. 

BE REAL had an incredibly successful 2024 and a strong start to the year. Thanks to generous donations, we’ve been able to make it possible for more students, teachers, and parents to have access to our resources.

Here are some of the projects we are currently working on:

• BE REAL is making a powerful impact at health conferences across the country. In 2024, Denise presented BodyKind at 24 different events, including the SHAPE Conference, ICED Conference, SOPHE Conference, and the Advancing School Mental Health Conference. Speaking at these conferences has greatly expanded our contact list and increased our reach.
• BE REAL’s BodyKind high school body image curriculum is now available to educators nationwide. We train and test teachers on our resources via online video or in-person. Through 2024, we’ve trained over 300 teachers, reaching more than 30,000 high school students who will receive BE REAL’s BodyKind lessons.
• BodyKind, has been proven effective in improving body image through a Randomized Control Trial (RCT). The study, which involved 1,150 students in Ireland, found that BodyKind led to significant increases in body appreciation. These results make BodyKind the first curriculum to achieve such outcomes, offering a promising solution to body image challenges.
• Let’s Eat! will be piloted this year. Our new middle and high school nutrition lessons teach young people the latest research-based strategies for healthy eating, aimed at preventing eating disorders and disordered eating. We plan to test these lessons for middle school in the fall of 2025, in collaboration with UNC Charlotte’s Integrative Positive Psychology Research Lab in Mindfulness, Body-Acceptance, Culture, and Health, at Portland (Oregon) Public Schools.
• The BE REAL Ambassador program has grown rapidly, with over 100 ambassadors, including 58 who joined in 2024. Our vibrant community continues to thrive, with ambassadors spreading our resources nationwide and sharing their experiences during our quarterly meetings.

Thank you for your past support at GlobalGiving. We could use your help now more than ever to create Body Confident Schools everywhere!

Confidently yours,

Denise Hamburger

Executive Director of BE REAL