Two thirds of girls in UK have low body esteem
ALMOST TWO thirds of girls in the UK do not have high body esteem and are missing out on key life experiences as a result, a survey has found.
Nine in ten UK girls (85 per cent) with low body esteem avoid activities such as socialising with friends and family or trying out for a team or club – more than the global average of 79 per cent, the poll for Dove revealed.
It also found 88 per cent of those with low esteem will risk their health by not seeing a doctor or missing meals, compared with 16 per cent of those with high body esteem.
The global survey of more than 5,000 girls in 14 countries for the Dove Global Girls Beauty and Confidence Report found the UK is among the top three countries where the majority of girls – 61 per cent – do not have high body esteem, surpassed only by Japan (93 per cent) and China (65 per cent).
It found that higher levels of body esteem have a lasting impact on a girl’s confidence, resilience and life satisfaction, while those with low body esteem are more likely to succumb to beauty and appearance pressures and withdraw from fundamental activities.
Some 71 per cent of UK girls with low body esteem feel pressure to be beautiful, and 78 per cent feel worse about themselves after looking at images of “beautiful girls” in magazines – 10 percentage points higher than the global average of 65 per cent.
Phillippa Diedrichs, from the Centre for Appearance Research at the University of the West of England, said: “We still have an enormous amount of work to do in helping girls develop the resilience they need to overcome the impact of beauty and appearance pressures.
“We also need to change the social and cultural environment directly so that girls are not judged on their looks and are not held back from getting a seat at whatever table they want, be it in the boardroom, or in Parliament, because of body image concerns.”
Edelman Intelligence surveyed 5,165 girls aged 10-17 online in India, the US, UK, Brazil, China, Japan, Turkey, Canada, Germany, Russia, Mexico, South Africa, Australia and Indonesia as part of the research for Dove.