Special report: weighing in.

Everyone seems to have something to say about how girls look. Kids come up with mean names for the heavy (Miss Piggy) and the skinny (Olive Oyl). You can't even walk into a grocery store without being bombarded by tabloids that call Britney a "post-baby porker" and Nicole Richie an "out-of-control anorexic." And then, there are the things we say to ourselves. GL surveyed hundreds of girls and found equal numbers who hate themselves for being too thin ("All my friends have something 'upstairs,' but I don't because I am so little!") and just as many who think they're too fat ("My BFF is super skinny. Next to her, I feel huge").

Is it all meaningless talk? Not exactly. The latest research on girls and weight is alarming. On one end of the scale, obesity is the No. 1 health problem for U.S. kids. On the other end, eating disorders among girls have reached all-time highs. So how did this happen?

The message that "thin is in" isn't a new one. But "thin" has taken on a whole new meaning: Says one GL reader, "My friends were in the dressing room at the mall, complaining that size 0 is too big on them. Size 0! I used to be happy being a 6, but now I feel too heavy."

To what do we owe this warped belief that humans should be in negative number sizes? "Many kids have poor body images due to the enormous pressure in celebrity culture to be super skinny," explains Susan S. Bartell, author of The Girls-Only Weight Loss Guide. In the past five years, the numbers of magazines, websites and TV shows dedicated to celebrity worship have exploded. So girls see more images of "perfect" bodies.

Lindsay Lohan, Hilary Duff and Nicole Richie have shed pounds--lots of them--in the past year. Their drastic weight losses haven't hurt their fan bases of mostly young girls, so these stars continue their popularity climbs. Tabloids have even reported rumors that the red string bracelet Nicole wears on her right wrist signals that she is "pro-ana," an online movement in which girls support each other's dangerous anorexic habits.

"Many celebrities are going to even greater extremes to get noticed--personal trainers, stylists and high-priced diets are no longer enough," confesses one Hollywood-image insider, who asked us not to reveal her name because she makes her living helping teen celebs achieve an ideal she herself feels compelled to describe as "damaging."

"Stars need to set better examples, says Cheryl Dellasega, author of Mean Girls Grown Up. "Girls are sold on gorgeous images that aren't real and, as a result, they feel enormous pressure to look like something that's unachievable unless you have a team of professionals and digital retouching."

On the other end of the spectrum is our country's growing weight problem. Americans are literally eating themselves to death. Around the world, millions are dying because they don't have enough food. Americans are dying because we have too much. Think this only affects adults? Not so.

More U.S. teens than ever--9 million of them--are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Currently, 16 percent of girls ages 6 to 19 are overweight. The American Academy of Pediatrics reports a major surge in the number of cases of type 2 diabetes among teen girls, especially minorities. Type 2 is the kind you get when you are overweight, unlike Type 1, which happens when your body can't produce insulin. As if that weren't enough to scare you, overweight teens are now also developing diseases like hypertension, high cholesterol and weight-related asthma, conditions previously associated predominantly with adults.

Hard to believe? Not really when you consider how our lifestyles have become more butt-on-the-seat (girls spend almost double the time in front of a screen from a generation ago), more inactive at school (only 28 percent of girls are required to take gym class today, down from 42 percent 15 years ago) and more dependent on processed foods (families are eating out more than ever).

Chiming in amid the worry about kids getting fat and the pressure to be thin is the "love yourself the way you are" movement. By now, everyone has seen those Dove ads (one ran during last season's Super Bowl broadcast), which encourage girls to feel good about how they look. Dove has even started The Dove Self-Esteem Fund to educate girls and women on wider definitions of beauty. Noble, sure ... but also confusing.

Emily, 14, sums it up best: "I know it's bad to be so skinny that your bones stick out, but lots of celebrities look like that and they still get tons of attention. I know it's bad to be heavy because it's not healthy, but girls come in all shapes and sizes so I try not to judge. In school, we talk about how you should 'be happy with what you have,' but what does that mean? I felt pretty good, but I started to weigh more and my mother suddenly worried. But I wasn't eating French fries. How can I be happy when I have all this swirling around me?!?" Exactly, Emily.

The GL girls we surveyed tell us appearance is your biggest concern, even more important to you than grades and friends. Everyone wants to be "normal," so they'll feel accepted. But how can you feel normal and accepted with so many mixed messages about weight? How can your body--and your self-esteem--stay strong and healthy when no one really addresses what's truly going on? We're here to help you sort it out. From learning the appropriate weight for you to deciphering all the mixed messages, read on for our advice on respecting your body ... and finally feeling like you fit in.

Learn your healthy weight

A recent study by the Girl Scout Research Institute found that up to one in three girls has the wrong idea about her weight--perceiving herself as too heavy when she's actually normal or believing she's normal when she's too heavy. The best way to a straightforward assessment of your body? Talk to your pediatrician. She can accurately determine if you're at a healthy weight. If you need to make changes, she'll tell you what they are. Another good health gauge is your Body Mass Index (BMI), a calculation estimating how much body fat a person has based on her weight and height (kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/dieting/bmi.html).

Commit to good habits 

Eat right; exercise daily. You've heard it again and again. Why? Because it works! Not only will you ward off all kinds of health problems, you'll feel great. Studies show that girls who are physically active are more satisfied with how they look--regardless of what the scales say.

Understand Mom

Research shows that if your morn is overweight, you're far more likely to be overweight too. Daughters have to break the cycle. Says Monique, 12, "My mom is heavy, but she buys fatty food all the time, then tells me to watch what I eat! We have no healthy food in the house. How does she expect me to be healthy?!" If your mom is like Monique's, try talking to her about making better food-shopping choices. If that fails, the best option may be to get your doctor involved. Changing your morn can be hard, so you may need another adult to stick up for your right to be healthy.

Mothers can also have negative effects on their daughters' body images if they wrestle with their own. "My mom pushes me to be thin because she isn't," confesses Sam, 16. "I'm in great shape because of sports, but she wants to make sure I stay that way." If you feel you are being overly pressured by your morn to look a certain way, talk to a school counselor or clergy person for support in addressing these issues with your morn.

If your mom is a healthy role model (and in GL's survey, we were thrilled that many are!), you're set. If not, find people whose habits you admire. Borrow a friend's healthy room for positive input.

Shun celebrities

Because of the saturation of celebrity coverage, we have misguidedly--and mistakenly--come to think of these people as peers. Not to beat this point to death, but most celebs weren't born skinny with nice butts and perky boobs. If they hadn't spent endless hours at the gym or big bucks in a plastic surgeon's office, they'd look just like you. Time to stop the comparisons. "You're in homeroom, not Hollywood," Dellasega says.

Stop with the chatter

As girls get older, they compare their bodies to other girls'. Says Elizabeth, 15, "My friends who are heavier always talk about how skinny I am. My friends who are thinner say they envy my curves. I wish people would focus more on what's inside and stop comparing themselves. It makes things awkward."

Many girls confess that they often tell friends how "fat" they are when they know they're at a healthy weight (one girl honestly spilled, "I say it to get attention"). Yes, we've all engaged in these "I'm so fat!" conversations, but we at GL want it to stop. Comparisons and criticisms--even in jest--are unhealthy and fuel stereotypes about realistic body types. So knock it off, and stick to compliments for other girls--and yourself.

Stop with the pressure

In the Girl Scout study, 40 percent of girls 11 to 17 say they don't play sports because they don't feel skilled enough. Says one GL reader, "I'm uncomfortable in PE because I might do something wrong, and then boys will think of me as a wimpy girl." Wimpy has nothing to do with it, Bartell says. Having tim does. And gym class isn't your only option for exercise. Do you enjoy swimming, jogging or dancing? Find activities you can enjoy on your own or with a group-without the pressure to be the best.

That said, feel free to kick butt. Boys are far more physically active than girls (hmmm, and boys generally have fewer body image concerns ...). One reader with a rock-solid body image tells us how much she enjoys "beating the boys at their own games" and showing her strength. Meeting resistance at your school? Speak up! "The guys at my school hog the ball and then fuss at the girls for not making an effort!" fumes a reader. GL demands equality. Get out there, and feel free to play as hard--or harder!--than they do.

Respect what your body does

Some girls have fast metabolisms, some slow. Some can jump three feet high, others can barely get off the ground. Some have broad shoulders for swimming, others can barely get a purse strap to stay on. You get it. It's your body. Appreciate it, and spend time focusing on your unique skills.

Maisha, 17, wraps it all up for us: "I grew up hating how I looked. I was too skinny." Her freshman year, she studied Japanese and karate. She found out she was really good at it. After earning her black belt, she no longer beats herself up: "I don't worry anymore. I feel good, and I have good friends." She's lucky, and she often gives other girls pep talks. "I don't know why people have stopped caring about things that really matter," Maisha adds. "We need to spend more time thinking about people's hearts and their intentions, not their bodies."