Body image report - Executive Summary

This content mentions body image or weight loss, eating disorders and suicide or suicidal thoughts. Please read with care. There are details of where to find help at the bottom of this page.

‘Body image’ is a term that can be used to describe how we think and feel about our bodies. Our thoughts and feelings about our bodies can impact us throughout our lives, affecting, more generally, the way we feel about ourselves and our mental health and wellbeing.

How does body image affect mental health?

Having body image concerns is a relatively common experience and is not a mental health problem in and of itself; however, it can be a risk factor for mental health problems. Research has found that higher body dissatisfaction is associated with a poorer quality of life, psychological distress and the risk of unhealthy eating behaviours and eating disorders.

Higher body dissatisfaction is associated with a poorer quality of life, psychological distress and the risk of unhealthy eating behaviours and eating disorders.

Conversely, body satisfaction and appreciation have been linked to better overall well-being and fewer unhealthy dieting behaviours. Though feeling unsatisfied with our bodies and appearance is often more common among young women, body image concerns are relevant from childhood through to later life and affect both women and men.  

Body satisfaction and appreciation has been linked to better overall wellbeing and fewer unhealthy dieting behaviours.

What causes body image concerns?

How our experiences and environment affect our body image will differ for everyone. However, overall, the research suggests that body image can be influenced by:

• our relationships with our family and friends
• how our family and peers feel and speak about bodies and appearance
• exposure to images of idealised or unrealistic bodies through media or social media
• pressure to look a certain way or to match an ‘ideal’ body type

There are further issues relevant to body image and mental health that are specific to certain factors and experiences, such as:

• long-term health conditions
• cultural differences around body ideals
• gender and sexuality

The above is often linked to other social factors and discrimination.

What can we do?

Clearly, action is needed to build and promote positive body image and support good mental health and well-being in our bodies. Everyone has a right to feel comfortable and confident in their own bodies, and our report highlights key recommendations for:  

• Effective regulation of how body image is portrayed. 
• The need for commitment from social media companies to play a key role in promoting body kindness. 
• Taking a public health approach to body image by training frontline health and education staff. 
• Individually being more aware of how we can care for ourselves and others about body image.  

Policy recommendations

Effective regulation of how body image is portrayed   

• The Online Harms White Paper should address harms relating to promoting unhelpful or idealised body image online, beyond content related to eating disorders. The new independent regulator should enforce an improved practice on how social media platforms promote unhealthy imaging
• The Advertising Standards Authority should consider pre-vetting high-reach broadcast adverts from high-risk industries – such as cosmetic surgery companies and weight-loss products and services – to ensure all advertising abides by its codes. It should also make greater use of its ability to proactively instigate investigations

Industry responsibility to promote body kindness   

• Social media companies should sign the Be Real Campaign’s Body Image Pledge and investigate new ways of using their platforms to promote positive body image and to ensure that a diversity of body types is presented positively to their users. 
• Social media companies should have clear systems for users to report bullying and discrimination and targets for action to be taken. They should give users greater control over the content they see in an accessible way.   

Public health and education approaches to body image  

• Training for frontline health practitioners and the early years childcare workforce should include information about how parents and carers can, from a very early age, positively influence their children’s feelings about their bodies through their behaviours and attitudes
• Children and adults in distress should receive fast and empathetic support when needed, regardless of where they live in the country
• Public campaigns on nutrition and obesity should avoid the potential to create stigma and indirectly contribute to appearance-based bullying. They should focus on healthy eating and exercise for all population members, regardless of weight
• A co-produced body image and media literacy toolkit should be a compulsory element of what children learn in schools. This should include developing a charter to achieve a healthy and positive body image

Tips for individuals

Individually being more aware of steps we can take for ourselves and others.   

1. If your body image is a significant cause of stress, or if you’re being bullied about how your body looks, consider talking to a friend, a trusted adult or a health professional
2. Spring-clean your apps on your smartphone
3. Notice the people and accounts you’re following on social media, and be mindful of how you feel about your own body and appearance when you look at them
4. If you see an advert in a magazine, on television or online that you think presents an unhealthy body image as aspirational, you can complain to the Advertising Standards Authority
5. Parents and carers can lead by example at home by modelling positive behaviour around body image, eating healthily and staying active
6. In our daily lives, we can all be more aware of how we speak about our own and other people’s bodies in casual conversations with friends and family
7. Find the best way that works for you to stay active

If you are feeling like ending your life or feel unable to keep yourself safe, please call 999 or go to A&E and ask for the contact of the nearest crisis resolution team. These are teams of mental health care professionals who work with people in severe distress. If you feel affected by the content you have read, please see our get help page for support.