Press Release – Body Confidence Campaign comes to Gloucestershire College

On 9th, 10th and 11^th February 2010, Natasha Devon of Winning Minds will be bringing the innovative body confidence campaign in Association with Body Gossip to Gloucestershire College.

The campaign will be presented to approximately 450 media, photography, graphics, fashion, beauty and music students, i.e. the people who will be influencing future attitudes towards beauty.

Natasha will present an inspiring class covering body image, pressure from the fashion and beauty industry and peers to conform to an impossible ideal and eating disorders, following up with question and answer session and a confidential helpline the students can call for 1-2-1 advice. She has also designed an online forum the students can visit with a variety of campaigns, petitions and groups they can become involved with which challenge the way society perceives beauty.

Natasha works with Mark Newey at Winning Minds, one of the UK’s leading NLP practitioners and Eating Disorder Specialist, whose workshops are endorsed by B-eat, the UK’s leading eating disorder charity. Natasha uses the basics of Mark Newey’s brilliant “Mind Map” to teach the students how their minds work and how they take on false beliefs and unfounded insecurities in an effort to liberate them from the shackles of negative body image and destructive eating patterns.

Natasha is an ex model and singer/songwriter who suffered from a severe eating disorder for almost a decade. She is candid about her past experiences and details the psychological and physical effects of her eating disorder, as well as the less glamorous aspects of the fashion and music industries.

Natasha is also an ambassador for the national, celebrity endorsed campaign, Body Gossip. This involves real people writing their stories about their real body, which are then performed by celebrities. Natasha will encourage the students to undertake the cathartic act of writing their own body story.

The campaign aims to break the prevailing conspiracy of silence with regard to body concerns and guide young people to a happier and healthier future, where the full spectrum of beauty is represented and celebrated.

Andy Ginn, Director of Creative Academies at Gloucestershire College said:

"The college is actively engaged with the 'every learner matters' agenda and the framework for excellence, so we're particularly proud to be associated with this extremely innovative and positive campaign"

Editor’s Notes

1 in 10 people under 25 in the UK suffer from an eating disorder.

As many as 1 girl in 5 will grow up to have eating habits “which give cause for concern”.

Only 1 percent of children felt they could talk to their parents about their eating-related concerns.

A national survey of 29,000 young people aged between 11 and 24 found a third of both males and females were most concerned about their body image.

By 14, half of young women cite their figures as their number one worry.

Body dysmorphic disorder, a form of crippling distorted self-image, affects one in every 100 women in the UK.

Body Gossip features celebrities such as Natalie Cassidy, Shobna Gulati, Nikki Grahame and Anne Diamond.

Winning Minds’ Body Confidence Campaign is supported by Plus Size Super Model Chloe Marshall.