Building Body Confidence Through Movement and Health Education

Thu, 07/23/2026 - 15:19

A young girl sits on the ground looking pensive.

In May 2026, Ophea and Canadian Women & Sport hosted two webinars about gender equity in Health and Physical Education and across everyday physical activity spaces. If you weren’t able to attend live, the recordings of these webinars are now available in full on Ophea’s YouTube channel:

Access From Awareness to Action: System Changes that Boost Girls’ Participation in School Sport & Physical Activity (for system leaders)

Access Creating Welcoming Movement Spaces: Supporting Body Confidence and Menstrual Health in School Physical Education, Intramurals, and Sport (for educators)

These webinars featured panel discussions with six experts who brought diverse lived experience and insight across mental health, research, and school sport. The panelists had such a wealth of knowledge to share that we’re continuing the conversation with them through a summer blog series!

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Creating Body-Inclusive Environments

Panelist Ary Maharaj shared insights informed by his combined experience as both a Registered Psychotherapist supporting individuals with mental health challenges and Team Lead, Community Education at the National Eating Disorders Information Centre (NEDIC):

“I believe that it’s important to recognize that a chronic disease approach to health promotion has not been working, and I’d argue, the pathologization underpinning that approach individualizes the problem, leading to shame and guilt that only isolate people further.

I value taking a whole-school approach to creating body-inclusive school environments, which often consists of the following:

tailored education to students in peer environments
educator professional development through learning and mentorship opportunities \
sharing information proactively home with parents that help them support what we’re teaching at school in their own way

An empowering research finding is that eating disorder prevention and creating positive, identity-affirming spaces are closely connected; for example, schools with positive space committees and more queer inclusion have also seen less eating disorders over time. Embrace the interconnections and the simple message that we are all different and human diversity is worth celebrating.”

Media Literacy and Body Image

Ary also highlighted the increasingly powerful role media plays in shaping the way young people see themselves and their bodies.

“Weight loss interventions aren’t new, but the amount of money, advertising and celebrity culture around these have turned the volume up. It’s where we (as adults) reflecting on our own relationship with weight and health is important because otherwise, it’s easy to accidentally perpetuate the message that weight loss is integral for health.”

Educator, IDEAS Research Lab Member, and Kinesiology & Physical Education PhD student Jasmine Lew echoed these concerns and offered one practical way educators can respond.

“Many students are learning about bodies and health from social media before they are learning about them in classrooms. We’re constantly receiving messages online about body ideals, ‘clean eating,’ optimization, wellness trends, and productivity culture.

A strategy that feels increasingly important is incorporating media literacy directly into health and movement education. Helping students critically unpack who profits from these messages and how they shape self-worth can create healthier relationships to movement and health overall and reduce the feelings of shame that Ary mentioned."

Creating Safe Conversations About Health and Body Image

Creating healthier environments for learning and movement doesn't always require major changes. Health & Physical Education Teacher, Athlete, and Coach Mackenzie Higgs shared simple but impactful examples of practices that she incorporates into everyday teaching to challenge harmful body image messages.

"I am very aware of the language I use when discussing food and eating patterns during our healthy eating unit, as well as our mental health unit. I ensure that I speak to all genders and the pressures of body image, with the hope that students can also develop empathy and understanding for their peers.

I also incorporate various examples of women in sport as role models who speak out about bodily expectations, for example Ilona Maher (USA rugby player), Simone Biles (USA gymnast), and Brandie Wilkerson (Canadian volleyball player).”

Both Mackenzie and Ary emphasized that giving young people space to ask questions, reflect, and challenge assumptions is just as important as the information being taught.

“Having open and frank discussions with your students goes a very long way. Some of the best health classes are discussion based! If you don’t know where to start, I would recommend Dove’s body confidence resources as a great base for teachers to build off of and cater to their classes on this topic.” - Mackenzie

“When I have these conversations with students (generally Grade 6+ in my experience), I try to get curious about what they think about the relationship between weight and health. What is health to them? What myths have they internalized and how can we broaden their thinking to be more flexible through conversation? Not as an adult speaking from a position of moral superiority, but as someone who can connect because we all have our own relationship with our body and health!” - Ary

Building Confidence Through Inclusion

Creating positive movement experiences isn't just about the activities being taught, it’s about fostering environments where young people feel seen, supported, and celebrated.

“Overall empowerment of our young female participants should be a core focus for all teachers. Celebrating those that may not typically be celebrated in the Physical Education space can go a very long way in building the confidence and comfort in the space. Students are perceptive and can tell genuine versus disingenuous feedback, so being honest and specific, even if it is a small improvement shows that you as the teacher notice their effort.

With my more athletic students I find celebrating their leadership and teamwork has helped to foster that inclusive environment for all of the students and they continue to demonstrate those skills throughout the year.” - Mackenzie

Educators, coaches, and movement leaders can shape inclusive experiences by celebrating individual growth, offering choice, and creating environments where students feel safe to participate authentically.

“Educators and coaches play such a large role in attempting to reduce shame around bodily change and normalize the reality that bodies feel different across time, contexts, and experiences. There are enormous social pressures around appearance, femininity, athleticism, and performance, often while younger folks are also experiencing significant physical and emotional changes. When movement spaces only celebrate endurance, toughness, or pushing through discomfort, students can internalize the idea that needing rest, flexibility, or support is failure.

Supporting girls/gender diverse youth in movement spaces means moving away from the idea that participation always needs to look the same every day. Flexibility, autonomy, and choice matter. Some students may want high-energy participation, while others may need modification, grounding, slower pacing, or moments of rest. Creating environments where those choices are respected without judgment can help students maintain positive relationships with movement over time.

One thing I’ve learned through both teaching and movement instruction is that students often remember how a space felt more than the specific activity itself. Feeling respected, listened to, and able to participate without fear of embarrassment can shape someone’s relationship to movement for years to come. Often the goal is not simply increasing participation in one class, but helping students build relationships to movement that feel sustainable, supportive, and meaningful throughout their lives.” - Jasmine