While Kim Kardashian obsesses over her weight, older sister Kourtney Kardashian is trying to do away with the word "fat"–at least when her 4-year-old daughter is around. In a recent interview for Cosmopolitan's October issue, Kourtney opens up about her decision and why she feels setting a good example is so important.
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"There are so many conversations that we have without thinking the kids are listening. I just don't want to start getting anybody self-conscious," Kourtney says regarding an episode in this season's Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
In the episode Kourtney tells her mother Kris Jenner not to say the word "fat" whenever her daughter Penelope is around.
"They said if a mother is confident about her body, that the daughters are way more likely to not have eating disorders. I'm fine about my body but I'll notice little things. If I'm, 'Ugh, I hate this outfit! I'm changing!' My daughter will try on tons of outfits before she's happy," Kourtney added.
We may not agree with everything the Kardashians do or say, but Kourtney's realization of how her body image can potentially affect her daughter's self-esteem is spot on. According to a 2013 study conducted by Joyce McFadden, psychoanalyst and author of Your Daughter's Bedroom: Insights for Raising Confident Women, 30-40 percent of women expressed thinking about their body image every day. And 46% of those same women claimed that they thought about it because that's exactly what their mothers did. Another study by the NCBI found that a woman's perception of her own weight, body, and food can affect her daughter's relationship with food and her body. In other words, not having a good positive body image can directly affect your daughter.
If you think about it, moms are probably the biggest, if not the most important influence when it comes to her daughter's own body image.
Kourtney clearly understands the direct impact her own body image can have on her daughter. And while we might not be on board with all her health fads (she makes her own DIY deodorant), we can definitely stand by her decision to not use the word "fat" around her daughter. In fact, it's probably something we should all become more conscious of.
Image via Kourtney Kardashian/Instagram
