Why Girls Are Struggling With Their Bodies More Than Ever with Dr. Charlotte Markey

Why Girls Are Struggling With Their Bodies More Than Ever with Dr. Charlotte Markey

From The Full Plate Podcast with Abbie Attwood, MS by Full Plate by Abbie Attwood

May 11, 2026 · 55 min

About this episode

Dr. Charlotte Markey discusses the various factors influencing girls' body image struggles today.

Body image researcher and Rutgers University psychology professor Dr. Charlotte Markey is back for a second time on the podcast. She has spent nearly three decades researching body image, and has written books for tweens, teens, boys, girls, and adults. We get into so much …including: * Body image as relational: how environment and relationships shape how we feel in our bodies * The father dynamic, achievement culture, and how a critical home environment affects girls * Biohacking and wellness culture as diet culture in disguise * What happens when food gets moralized into good and bad * Parents disparaging their own bodies and how it lands on daughters * Body dissatisfaction across racial, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds * Puberty: why normalizing it matters and why the conversation needs to extend beyond adolescence * How diet culture exploits women’s hormonal life stages * Whether there is a critical window for body image intervention * Social media’s impact on body shame and how to learn media literacy for critical thinking and protection * Body diversity and why the bodies we’re sold are not achievable for most people * The protein obsession in wellness culture and…

People in this episode

Host: Abbie Attwood

Guest: Dr. Charlotte Markey

Topics covered

  • body image
  • mental health
  • diet culture
  • parenting
  • social media
  • adolescence

Keywords

  • body image
  • diet culture
  • parenting
  • social media
  • adolescence
  • body dissatisfaction
  • wellness culture

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Rutgers University

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