Christy Magnani’s “real body story” is primarily her sister’s story, but the message is definitely her own: “Parents, be careful what type of body image you’re passing on to your kids.”

Magnani, a resident of Folsom and teacher at Sierra College and William Jessup University, has a younger sister fighting a lifelong battle against anemia and bulimia, and decided to take her experience as a teacher to spread her message and turn her sister’s story into something helpful for others.

“Real Body Story is an awareness campaign that promotes real body acceptance,” explains Magnani. “When I was in college I was anorexic. At the time we didn’t have a mother figure, so my sister saw my behavior. It was something I could shake and walk away from, but my sister was stuck with it. Studies show that you are more likely to have an eating disorder if your sibling or parent shows a disorder. I didn’t teach my sister the right skills.”

Now, Magnani has established realbodystory.com to inform others of this issue, and also volunteers her time going to different community groups with a presentation for women about the influence they have on their children, siblings and friends. “I’m trying to help raise girls to love their own bodies,” she says. “I want them to receive more positive messages than the one I communicated to my sister. Another goal of mine is to get clubs on high school campuses to help promote a healthy body image.”

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