What is the Body Project?

Backed by two decades of research and evaluation data, the Body Project is a group-based intervention that provides a forum for women and girls to confront unrealistic beauty ideals and engages them in the development of healthy body image through verbal, written, and behavioral exercises. The Body Project was developed by researchers at Stanford University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Oregon Research Institute, and has been delivered to over one million young women around the world.

The conceptual basis for the Body Project is that if girls and young women voluntarily argue against the societal appearance-ideal, this will result in a reduced subscription to this ideal and to consequent decreases in eating disorder risk factors and eating disordered behaviors.

What Are the Objectives of the Body Project?

1. Define the “appearance” ideal and explore its origin
2. Examine the costs of pursuing this ideal
3. Explore ways to resist pressures to conform to unrealistic standards of beauty
4. Discuss how to challenge personal body-related concerns
5. Learn new ways to talk more positively about our bodies
6. Talk about how we can best respond to future pressures to conform to societal standards of beauty

• Body Project FAQs
• Who is this for?
• NEDA offers Body Project facilitator training for individuals and organizations working with high school-aged girls. Facilitators must be women who are 18 years or older and in strong recovery from an eating disorder (if applicable). We can train up to 16 facilitators per training.

  Body Project facilitators are empathetic, can facilitate group discussions, and have an interest in women's health and empowerment. In the past, our facilitators have been educators, youth program coordinators, psychology and social work graduate students, eating disorder specialists, and more. The ideal facilitator is someone who has direct contact with teens and young adults who are at risk for developing eating and body image concerns.

• What are the benefits of the training?
• Following the one day 8-hour training, you are able to deliver the program to a group of 6 to 12 high school aged girls at a time for four one-hour (or six 45-minute) sessions. As a facilitator, you are not qualified to train additional facilitators.
• What is the time commitment?
• One 8-hour training, or two days consisting of one 8-hour training each day if interested in becoming a trainer
• Where does the training take place?
• You can either choose to attend a facilitator training hosted in NYC or we can explore bringing a training to your area.
• Once I’m a trained facilitator, how many high school students can I run groups with?
• Each group can hold up to 6 to 12 high school aged girls. You can run the program as many times as you want.
• What is the difference between a facilitator and a trainer?
• Facilitators can deliver the Body Project program with up to 6 to 12 high school aged girls per group. Trainers can run groups in addition to training additional facilitators.
• How do I become a Body Project trainer?
• If you’re interested in training others to become facilitators, your school or organization can choose to participate in a 2 day 8-hour per day training model. Up to 12 staff member participants can be trained as Body Project Facilitators each day. Additionally, on the second day, two previously trained Facilitators return to become Body Project Trainers. These trainers can train future facilitators to deliver the program. If you are attending as an individual, you can attend two one-day trainings.
• Is there anything available for high school aged boys?
• The More than Muscles pilot program is for high schoolers who identify as male. NEDA is happy to connect high schools that are well positioned to participate in the IRB approval process with the researcher overseeing this project.
• What are the training costs?
• $150 per person if you are attending a virtual session
• $200 per person if you are attending your facilitator training in NYC.
• $350 per person for a regional one-day training $4k for the one day 8-hour facilitator for a group up to 16 staff members regional group
• $6,750 for the two day 8-hour per day for up to 16 participants each day and the ability for two previously trained Facilitators to return and become Body Project Trainers.

  These costs include all expenses. All participants are also required to sign an MOU prior to the training date.

• What ongoing support is available post-training?
• Post training, facilitators are granted access to NEDA’s Body Project portal and Facebook group for ongoing community support and access to resources.
• I would like to be trained in the High School Body Project as an individual. What are my options?
• Take our eligibility survey to see if this is a good fit for you! NEDA regularly holds facilitator trainings at our headquarters office in NYC. If you would like to be trained and cannot attend these dates, we can explore if there is a local Body Project training taking place in your area.

Recovery is important to us here at NEDA. We require that applicants with personal experience who are interested in getting involved with the National Eating Disorders Association have two years of strong recovery due to the intense and triggering nature of this program.