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Loving Yourself is Better for Your Health

From the Show: Staying Well
Summary: Learn why loving your body is the most crucial element in your overall health.
Air Date: 1/6/14
Duration: 10
Host: Melanie Cole, MS
Guest Bio: Leslie Goldman, MPH
leslieWomen's health writer and body image expert Leslie Goldman, MPH, is a frequent contributor of feature stories and essays to O: The Oprah Magazine, SELF, Women's Health, Fit Pregnancy, Natural Health, Woman's Day, espnW.com and more.

When she's not helping readers fortify their immune systems, telling them how to be "just healthy enough" or reminiscing about her wackadoodle babymaking exploits, she blogs at HealthBreaksLoose.com, Huffington Post and TheBump.com.

Leslie's first book, Locker Room Diaries: The Naked Truth About Women, Body Image, and Re-imagining the "Perfect" Body, has been featured on the Today Show, and she has visited dozens of college and university campuses, delivering her talk on women and body image to audiences of up to 2500.

She is proud to be a frequent guest on the Today Show, discussing everything from 5'11"/115-lb models being fired for being "too fat" and Barbie's body to everyone's favorite topic: cleavage.

Leslie earned her Masters in Public Health at the University of Illinois-Chicago and her Bachelor of Science in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she was recently named to the inaugural University of Wisconsin Forward Under 40 list.
  • Book Title: Locker Room Diaries: The Naked Truth About Women, Body Image, and Re-imagining the
  • Guest Twitter Account: @LeslieGoldman
Loving Yourself is Better for Your Health
As a woman, living amongst thousands of advertisements of what your body should look like can do more than just damage your self-esteem.

In today's world, you aren't pretty or close to being perfect unless your ribcage shows, your size zero pants are a little loose and, let's not forget, most importantly your breast sizes up to a Double-D.

Who came up with these standardized beauty requirements?

What's even worse is that women you once looked up to for not falling into these "normalized" categories have now fallen victim to Photoshop, proving that you shouldn't feel comfortable in your own skin.

Developing a positive attitude toward your body is essential for your mental, physical and emotional health. Health writer and body image expert, Leslie Goldman, MPH, discusses how the perception and the reality of weight can be harmful to women's health.