FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Cambridge, October 30, 2011 – Do you remember what it’s like to be 13? Insecure about being a girl, your growing body, mortified about the zits on your face, anxious about trying to fit in. Research shows that girls face a crisis of body confidence as they hit their teenage years: eating disorders, low self-esteem, poor body image, and depression are the most common health problems in girls, with over half of girls being dissatisfied with their body shape and many already dieting by age 10.
But now, BodiMojo.com has launched My Confidential, a customizable web-based dashboard with online games that allows teen girls to personalize and share their unique feelings and experiences about self-care and body image utilizing motivational technologies. BodiMojo is the only web, social, and mobile interactive platform for girls’ health and confidence, aimed at ages 13-17 to promote positive body image, self care, and inspire body confidence.
My Confidential engages girls as they grow to help them feel good about their bodies and themselves so they can make smart decisions. BodiMojo meets girls where they are – online and on mobile – to influence healthier attitudes and behaviors offline,” said BodiMojo founder Dr. Tara Cousineau.
My Confidential dashboard allows girls to:
- Discover “What’s Your Boditude,” self-assessing body image attitudes
- Create a “Confidence Cover,” a personal confidence page (“I like myself!)
- Inspire other teens with Confidence Stories
- Set and track health goals in nutrition, fitness and wellness
- Create a “mood cloud” of feeling states (“Proud. Nervous. Stressed Out. Silly.”)
- Send a “daily mojo” via email (“I don’t have to follow everyone else.”)
- Join a forum to ask and share experience moderated by experts
The power of BodiMojo for body image
A recent study, conducted in conjunction with Northeastern University, showed body image improvements for girls after using BodiMojo tools and website. The field test of BodiMojo.com in high school health classes showed that girls exposed to BodiMojo.com over one month improved their attitudes about physical appearance as compared to girls who didn't use the site. “The adolescent years are an especially critical time for girls,” said Cousineau, who is also a psychologist and Boston-area mother of teen girls.
BodiMojo includes interactive health tools, games, quizzes, original health content, social networking, and customized user pages for teens. BodiMojo’s Facebook fan page app to allows teens to take health quizzes, and send motivational messages, challenges, and virtual gifts to friends. (Video demo here.) BodiMojo is a Reader Choice 2011 Finalist in Best Websites for Teens by About.com.
About BodiMojo:
BodiMojo was created in collaboration with teens and health experts. With initial funding from a federal small business grant, BodiMojo offers social, web and mobile health and confidence apps that personalize messages for teen girls.
Note: The project described was supported by Award Number R44DK074280 from the National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIDDK or the National Institutes of Health.
Contact:
Dr. Tara Cousineau
617-333-0441
BodiMojo
www.BodiMojo.com
