Chapter 2: Enabling children, girls and women to live their lives to the fullest
Body image
By the time a young person reaches 15 years of age, approximately three in five boys in the UK think that they're the right size, whereas only two in five girls think that they are.
(NHS Digital (2015). Health and Wellbeing of 15-year-olds in England - Main findings from What About YOUth? Survey 2014.)
Body dissatisfaction, defined as 'a person's negative thoughts and feelings about their own body' is a leading cause of eating disorders, low self esteem, and poor mental wellbeing. Nearly one in two (48%) of teenage girls are dissatisfied with their bodies, compared with one in three boys (31%).
(Mahon C and Hevey D (2021). Processing body image on social media: gender differences in adolescent boys' and girls' agency and active coping. Front. Psychol.)
Girls' bodies are constantly scrutinised and stigmatised. Many girls say that they stop doing things because they are worried about being criticised over their bodies. From the images girls see in the media to harmful comments at school, girls feel pressured to conform to unrealistic beauty and body standards. This pressure is increased by the growing number of images girls are exposed to today, both online and offline. This all becomes a major source of anxiety in girls' lives.
(Mahon C and Hevey D (2021). Processing body image on social media: gender differences in adolescent boys' and girls' agency and active coping. Front. Psychol.)
Plan International UK's survey of over 1,000 girls aged 14-21 found that 72% of girls have seen photos of themselves that have made them feel bad about the way they look. It takes, on average, 10 photo attempts before young girls are happy to post a photo on social media. (Plan International (2020). The state of girls' rights in the UK 2019-2020)
In a 2021 NHS survey on children and young people's mental health during the pandemic, there were indications that the proportion of children and young people with possible eating problems increased between 2017 and 2021. In 11 to 16 year olds, this rose from 6.7% to 13.0%, and in 17 to 19 year olds from 44.6% to 58.2%.
(NHS Digital. (2022). Mental health of children and young people in England, 2021. Wave 2 follow up of the 2017 survey.)
To support their mental health, young people have said that the most important topics they would like to be addressed in school were depression and anxiety, body image and identity. Young girls consider eating disorders and body image to be important issues in relation to their mental health and wellbeing.
(Cortina M, Linehan T, Sheppard K. (2021). Working towards mentally healthy schools and FE colleges: the voice of students. Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families.)