The prevention of eating disorders and body image problems among adolescents is one of the most desirable achievements in contemporary health education. While preventive school-based education has been suggested as a possible way to reduce the prevalence of these problems in children and adolescents, this approach has also been cited as ineffective and potentially dangerous. This article discusses educational activities that deal with the prevention of eating problems and eating disorders. School-based activities are discussed in relation to how eating problems and eating disorders may be best dealt with in educational settings. Discussion focuses on how to avoid undesirable and unintentional effects such as the promotion of dangerous weight control methods and the glamorization or normalization of eating disorders. A new safe and effective school-based self esteem program (O'Dea&Abraham, in press) is discussed and this new approach provides support for the use of school-based strategies to prevent eating problems.