Girls as young as seven believe that being slim and pretty makes you clever, happy and popular, research from Girlguiding UK and eating disorder charity Beat has found.
As a result of the research, a self-esteem youth panel, made up of Girlguiding UK's peer education programme representatives and Beat's young ambassadors panel, has been set up. The panel is calling for better training on eating disorders for teaching and school nurses, among other measures.
