Resources for teachers
These resources support school staff and others to promote positive body image and healthier relationships with food among children and youth. They also offer tips and resources to help staff address weight-based bullying, and cover what to do if they are concerned about a student's eating.
Health Promoting Schools builds on the long-standing Comprehensive School Health Approach.
Both focus on improving student well‑being by looking beyond individual programs and addressing the whole school environment. The four components reflect the same evidence‑based ideas, using clearer language to help schools, families, and communities work together more effectively.
Social and Physical Environment
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Use body diverse visuals
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Remove scales
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Avoid comments around dieting, weight, or body shape (yourself and others)
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Schedule adequate time for eating
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Frame physical activity as fun and social, not as a way to control weight
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Ensure desks and chairs fit all bodies
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Talk about all foods neutrally (e.g. no good foods, bad foods)
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Do not connect food, eating, or activity to body size
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Support school food programs in BC
Teaching and Learning
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Use Teach Food First for nutrition education in grades K-8
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When teaching about health, disconnect weight from health. Instead, focus on adequate sleep, physical activity, self-compassion, self-regulation, and mindful eating
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Avoid food logs and calorie counting
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Encourage critical thinking skills around social media/messaging related to food/weight/shape
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Normalize increase in weight, body fat, and appetite during growth and puberty
Policy
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Ensure anti-bullying policies include body shape and size
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Build safe, caring, and inclusive school communities
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Create policies on meal supervision roles
- Have weight-neutral rationale for non-food reward policies
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Respect parents’ roles in food selection and offer support as needed
Partnerships
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Work with public health staff
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Vet guest speakers (weight-inclusive, trauma-informed)
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Refer to appropriate supports when disordered eating/eating disorders suspected
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Partner with EmbodyBC, Foundry, Health Authority, MCFD, and other youth service providers
Promoting positive body image, preventing disordered eating
Teaching tools for teachers
Grades 4-7
Being Me Being Us
A NEW BC curriculum for Grades 4–7 that helps students explore identity, belonging, and body image.
Explore and share: www.beingmebeingus.ca
Grades 4-5
Amazing Me—The Dove Self-Esteem Project and Discovery Education. Addresses media literacy, different aspects of bullying, and body confidence.
Grades 4-8
Beyond Images—Online lesson plans from Canada's NEDIC (National Eating Disorder Information Centre).
Grades 3 and up
Media Smarts—Body Image: Introduction | MediaSmarts Canada's Centre for Digital and Media Literacy includes literary programs, resources and lesson plans with the purpose of encouraging youth to develop critical thinking skills when engaging with various forms of media
For Teachers
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Teacher Fan Club—Elizabeth Tingle is a teacher and a producer of the Teacher Fan Club podcast. Passionate about weight-neutral health education, she is a sessional instructor at the Werklund School of Education and the lab coordinator for the Body Image Lab at the University of Calgary.
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Teach Food First—A 2022 Canadian toolkit with lesson plans for K-8 teachers.
Videos
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Dove Beauty Evolution—A time-lapse depicting what happens behind the scenes in the beauty industry (Dove Self-Esteem Fund)—For grade 4 and up.
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Poodle Science—An animated video discussing the limitations of current research on health and weight—For grade 7 and up.
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50 people 1 question—A video asking 50 people from diverse backgrounds what they would change about themselves—For all ages.
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Dove Reverse Selfie—A short video that can be used with grades 6 and up to address social media and retouching apps. Have #TheSelfieTalk.
The views and opinions in the videos may not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Vancouver Coastal Health and Embody.
The causes of eating disorders are complex, however poor body image is a known risk factor.
These resources can help school staff identify signs of disordered eating and connect students and their families with appropriate supports, such as their primary care provider or local health unit.
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Guidelines For School Staff: Helping a Student with Suspected Eating Disorder (Embody, Vancouver Coastal Health, North Vancouver School District, West Vancouver Schools)
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Understanding Eating Disorders in BC Schools: A Guide of Trauma Informed Practices for School Professionals (Ministry of Education and BC Children's Hospital). This resource was developed and reviewed by health professionals and teachers for the intended use of promoting positive body image.
Resources and information
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Kelty Mental Health Resource Centre—A website by PHSA (Provincial Health Services Authority) with resources for school professionals, parents, youth, and health professionals to support wellbeing.
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Body Image and Eating from Foundry BC—Foundry BC's web pages for youth 12-24 years, on body image and eating. Includes a body image and eating self-check for youth.
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Looking Glass Foundation—Looking Glass Foundation provides programs, services, and resources to support community members with disordered eating and eating disorders.
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Weight Stigma in schools from Ontario Dietitians in Public Health (2020).
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Weight Inclusivity Checklist—A tool for assessing the prevalence of weight bias in your practice or school community.
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Weight Bias and Weight Stigma in Schools—Interior Health BC resource for schools to inform staff on weight bias and stigma and provide resources to create a weight-inclusive school environment (2022).
About the author
EmbodyBC equips BC parents and professionals with trusted resources to support young people before they develop an eating disorder. EmbodyBC is a provincial program of Family Services of the North Shore.
