Shock as 5-year-old calls ice cubes a 'calorie free' snack as new scheme starts in schools

Two Birmingham entrepreneurs are on a mission to boost the body image of children - after being shocked to hear a five-year-old call ice cubes a 'calorie free' snack. Sadly this is common amongst children and teens according to Romy and Katie, who organise dance fitness workshops to pull youngsters away from negative body image.

Romy Ashmore-Hills, 26, and Katie Evans, 25, set up Hungry 2 Move in October last year. The duo travel across Birmingham schools running dance workshops and having enlightening chats about body positivity with pupils.

They have revealed a staggering amount of children in the city feel self-conscious about their bodies and refuse to take part in physical activity. Issues including eating disorders and inactive lifestyles are also top of the list when speaking to young people.

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Moseley-based Romy said: "We grew up with social media as a little part of our childhood but saw the effect it had on our body image. Working with kids we saw the effect on them and since we are both trained in dance, we saw it as a good way to build positive body image.

"We want to use dance in a positive way to instill confidence. Some studies show boys suffer from Muscle Dysmorphia where they want to gain more muscle through unhealthy eating habits or supplements.

"Girls feel under pressure to stay in prepubescent bodies, almost all teenagers won't post a selfie without a filter. School children in year three want to be at the front of a dance session, by year six they are more reserved and want to move to the back."

Romy shared an experience at a primary school in the city where a five-year-old called ice cubes a healthy snack as they are like 'calorie free Doritos', highlighting the importance of reaching children at an early age. Romy and Katie were stunned by the 'shocking statement', believing the child heard this from a family member or someone's phone.

It also doesn't help that according to The Good Childhood Report 2021, a survey by the Mental Health Foundation found that 37% of teenagers felt upset and 31% felt ashamed of their body image. Over one third of adults said they had felt anxious (34%) or depressed (35%) because of their body image.

Depressingly, 51% of girls aged between 7-10 were 'very happy' with how they look, but by age 11–16, this dropped to 16%. Romy said: "Kids absorb everything they hear and it's really damaging. It shows the impact of social media and adults need to be careful of what kids hear."

Romy believes telling teenagers to stay off social media is ineffective as it is a huge part of their lives. The duo focus on dissecting social media use with them instead, hoping they will recognise the negative effects as they get older.

Read more about Hungry 2 Move here

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Romy continued: "Parents need to be aware of what their kids are looking at and limiting time on social media. It helps to follow social media accounts of people with different body shapes, different lifestyles who promote positive messages.

"If you see a post that makes you feel bad about yourself, you don't have to look at it. Be selective about what you see, we can curate our own social media feeds in a positive way."