My eyes can’t help drifting to the numbers below the delicious-sounding burger on the menu. Then I begin to fret.
‘I can’t eat that burger,’ I think to myself, ‘it has too many calories. Go for the healthier option. But hey, I’m out with my friends, I should enjoy myself. It’s a treat. How many calories have I eaten already today?’
My concerns over body image are the icing on the cake for my existing mental health issues. I know that many people share the same worries and doubts as me, and it feels terrible to be wrought with such negativity about your body. Why can’t I enjoy the foods I really want to eat when I go out to a restaurant? Why should I have to do workouts that I don’t really enjoy, just to feel ‘slim enough’ when I’m already a healthy weight?
Over a third of adults have felt depressed or anxious because of concerns over their body image, according to research from The Mental Health Foundation in 2019. In addition, one in five adults worried about their image because of photos on social media.
It’s not surprising to hear that online platforms can become a big source of insecurities. Think of all the photos of celebrities and influencers who show off in bikinis, men posing with the lighting perfect to highlight their muscles, and retouched models in adverts. It’s like beauty propaganda to shape your views of yourself, and others around you. And it’s far from a realistic view of the world.
“I definitely think the way I feel about my body has changed as I’ve grown up,” a 24-year-old student explained. “I let other people like my mum dictate what I wore a lot when I was a teenager, which influenced my insecurities. But now that I’m older and more independent, I can choose what I want to highlight and that in turn gives me more body confidence.”
Another student shares concerns about the ever-desirable ‘flat stomach’; “I do worry, like when you see [images] on social media, everyone is thinking, not just girls but guys as well, ‘I need to look a certain way, I need to do this to myself’, and it’s just a vicious cycle you can’t get out of.”
So what is being done to help people feel more confident with their body image?
France is a country really paving the way towards body positivity. In 2017 the BBC reported on new measures the country had put in place, including warning labels on commercial images which have digitally-thinned bodies, and how all models require a doctor’s certificate regarding their physical health.
In the UK, I’m sure we all remember the ‘Are you beach body ready?’ advert scandal in 2015, when Protein World used the above question, centring a slim woman in a bikini, to highlight their weight loss product in London Tube stations. Over 70,000 people signed a petition to remove it. And they were heard – the Mayor of London banned all body-shaming adverts on Transport for London vehicles.
But is there more that could be done in our country to support body positivity?
Brands are taking a more positive approach to advertising, with Dove’s ‘Real Beauty Pledge’, described on their website as featuring ‘zero digital distortion of women’. Fashion brand ASOS are on the same lines, stating that they ‘work with more than 200 models to represent their audience’ and their photos have ‘no reshaping or removing stretch marks.’
There is also a campaign called Be Real set up in the UK, which has created a Body Image Pledge calling for models to be portrayed in a more responsible manner by the nation’s industries. There are four parts to this pledge, including reflecting diversity, reality, and promoting health and wellbeing. They are encouraging companies to publicly endorse and sign up to their pledge.
“I feel I’m a complete opposite now when I think about my body,” a 19-year-old told me. “You sort of engineer in your own head what you think you should look like, which has been a bit toxic in the past. I remember as a teenager, feeling insecure in my own skin because I was so lanky. Seeing certain things, like guys with a perfect build, can make you look inwards a lot, and wonder ‘am I good enough?’ I’m 19 now and I couldn’t care what others think. I like buying nice clothes, I like posting on social media, and I’m confident in my tall and skinny build.
“I think once you stop caring what others think, you open so many possibilities for yourself, and I’ve found so much happiness both inside and out for just being me.”
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