Beauty Beyond Bodies

BY KAMAKSHEE KUCHHAL & GIANNA LIU PHOTOS & DESIGN BY ANNA SONG

Students of West unpack their personal experiences and struggles with their bodies.

As summer approaches, many students replace their sweaters and sweatpants with t-shirts and shorts. For some, more revealing clothes are just another way to combat the heat, but for others, it can invoke self-consciousness. A study from C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital shows that up to 73% of teenage girls and 69% of teenage boys express negative perceptions of their bodies. Eating disorders, body dysmorphia and scars can be reasons why these insecurities become more prevalent.

Eating Disorders

The American Psychiatric Association defines eating disorders as behavioral conditions characterized by extreme and continuous negative eating habits and related distressing thoughts and emotions. Common eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. Many develop these in adolescence and young adult- hood, affecting 5% of the total United States population.

Grey Gromacki ’26 was diagnosed with anorexia, which often meant counting calories and not eating food for long periods of time. They first experienced symptoms in eighth grade due to the social environment.

“It didn’t just happen one day, it started socially,” Gromacki said. “My anorexia was influenced by other people’s disordered eating habits. I would see people not eat lunch for days on end,