Peer pressure can occur at any time in your life, starting when you are a child and continuing until you decide you are not going to give in to it any more. Peer pressure is most common with teens because they feel that they must look like everyone around them to fit in, this includes the way they dress, eat, act, and even talk. For teens, it is easier to give into peer pressure than it is to ignore peer pressure.

If you have ever been told, or even told someone, you need to lose weight, dress differently, talk differently, or anything else and you have begun to change everything about you, you have given into peer pressure.

A teen giving into peer pressure is unhealthy for them and their family members. This can lead to many challenges later on in life, such as having low self esteem, becoming anorexic, bulimic, becoming depressed, and having a poor body image of themselves.

Let's break these down so you have a better understanding of what you or your child may be going through.

Low self esteem occurs when someone is constantly hearing how ?unattractive? they are from friends and family members. This may cause a person to want to diet to lose weight or change who they are to fit in. This is unhealthy because people are only as attractive as they think they are. Giving into peer pressure will only make you think you are unattractive and make matters worse.

Anorexia occurs when a person feels they are too fat and decides to try and lose weight fast by self induced vomiting. There are about 50% of anorexic patients who engage in self induced vomiting or even abuse laxatives to help them lose weight. Vomiting is unhealthy because it is possible that it will eat away at lining of your esophagus.

Bulimia occurs when some one feels they are ?fat? and begin participating in binge-eating. After eating they may try to engage in some form purging such as vomiting, and abusing laxatives. This is an attempt to keep from gaining weight.

Depression occurs when someone tries a diet, or another form of losing weight, and sees no results, causing them to become upset about the way they look.

Poor body image can lead to unhealthy dieting practices when someone attempts to diet. If someone keeps hearing over and over again that they need to diet, then they may feel that something is wrong with their image and that what others say is the truth.

If you like the how you look don't change it, but if you are unhappy with your appearance it should be your choice to change it. Don't let someone else tell you that you need to change don't give into peer pressure. There is only one you and you shouldn't have to change just to fit in with those around you.