Public Health Interventions to Facilitate Positive Embodiment

Abstract

Public health approaches constitute a potentially powerful avenue for universal prevention and efforts to promote positive embodiment and body image. A small number of public health interventions have aimed, directly or indirectly, to increase these positive ways of inhabiting the body. The present chapter reviews public health interventions at the national and local levels, as well as industry-led efforts, that have the potential to positively impact embodiment, by first considering initiatives that have specifically targeted body image factors and second considering those that have targeted protective factors for positive embodiment. While few evaluative data are available, the strengths and limitations of existing programs are considered.