As part of Mental Health Awareness Week Body Image has been a big focus. We found these interesting statistics on the www.mentalhealth.org.uk and thought they were worth a read. Everyone feels bad about themselves at some point, so be good to yourself and others and always take time out to look after yourself.
New online surveys were conducted by the Mental Health Foundation with YouGov in March 2019 of 4,505 UK adults 18+ and 1,118 GB teenagers (aged 13-19). The results highlighted that:
Find out more at www.mentalhealth.org.uk
Among teenagers, 37% felt upset, and 31% felt ashamed in relation to their body image.
Just over one third of adults said they had ever felt anxious (34%) or depressed (35%) because of their body image.
One in eight (13%) adults experienced suicidal thoughts or feelings because of concerns about their body image.
Just over one in five adults (21%) said images used in advertising had caused them to worry about their body image.
Just over one in five adults (22%) and 40% of teenagers said images on social media caused them to worry about their body image.
What can we do?
Clearly action is needed to build and promote positive body image and support good mental health and wellbeing in relation to 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 take care of ourselves and others in relation to body image.