Perfect celeb pics used to teach kids about 'distorted sense of body image'

London, June 24 (ANI): In a Government backed initiative, images of celebrities before and after they have been airbrushed, slimmed and enhanced are being used to help parents talk to their children about body image in UK.

They are featured in a state-backed leaflet, that encourages adults to sit down with children as young as six and show them how digital trickery is often used in magazines and adverts to make models and film stars look perfect.

The guide, which will be made available online, cautions that enhanced images are giving both girls and boys a distorted sense of reality and low self-esteem, Sky News reported.

It uses before-and-after touched-up pictures of celebrities such as Britney Spears and Keira Knightley to help get the message across as well as offering tips on how to talk about the subject.

Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone claimed that the new pack as a way of empowering parents to "have those difficult conversations" with their children.

"Young people are being set an impossible standard by images in media and advertising which can erode their self-esteem. As parents, we are often aware of these issues but may not have the advice and guidance we need to talk to our children," she said.

In a research carried out by 'Girl Guiding UK', it was found that 75 percent of 11 to 21-year-old girls go on dieting to look more attractive.

Sue Atkins, a parenting expert, who has been involved in developing the booklet, believes that family support is vital.

"We need to talk and we need to teach our kids that these programmes and things are all airbrushed, that people have spots in real life and that we get rid of them very quickly, that people are not necessarily as slim as they look and children need to know that and pass that confidence onto their children so that they don't grow up feeling bad about themselves," she said. (ANI)