A-Team Med embarked on a journey to delve deeper into the intricate relationship between Mental Health Safety and the Asian American Community. Our exploration involved listening to the stories of Asian Americans who grappled with body image and disordered eating within the context of the demanding expectations imposed by 'Asian Beauty Standards.' Our prior work, presented at the AMA Research Challenge, entailed a mini-literature review on eating disorders among Asian Americans, revealing significant gaps in this underexplored field. To learn more, you can find our research findings here.

In response to these findings, A-Team Med is collaborating with Busan Foreign School to raise awareness and foster open discussions about body positivity among adolescents. With the growing influence of K-Pop and Asian media in both Korea and mainstream American culture, it has become imperative to educate adolescents on healthy eating, mindfulness, self-acceptance, and the potential repercussions of unrealistic beauty standards. The toxic influence of lookism practices coupled with these standards poses a real threat to adolescent identity formation and their ability to become the best versions of themselves. It's time to address the elephant in the room. Mental health is often underemphasized in grade school, but we firmly believe that schools provide the ideal setting for open dialogues on this critically important topic, allowing us to empower adolescents effectively.

Our collaboration with Busan Foreign School aims to serve as a response to our call to action. We aspire to create a safe environment where students can openly share their experiences with body empowerment. Through this partnership, we hope to cultivate an environment where students feel accepted and can truly thrive.