Body functionality

[ˈbɒdi fʌŋkʃəˈnaləti] n.

Think about what your body has done for you today. Has it whacked out a 5k? Wrestled with a wriggly toddler? Or perhaps it’s carried you – and your groaning bags of groceries – home from the local supermarket. ‘Body functionality refers to the non-aesthetic functions of the body – essentially the things that the body “does” or allows you to do,’ says Dr Bryony Bamford, clinical psychologist at The London Centre for Eating Disorders and Body Image. A key piece of research was a 2013 study by a team at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, in which 118 women aged 30 to 50 were split into two groups and asked to write either about what their body could do, or what it looked like.

The function-over-form group experienced a long-lasting increase in body satisfaction. Why? ‘Focusing on body functionality usually evokes more positive feelings, as people tend to be grateful for the things their bodies are able to do, while focusing on appearance is much more judgement-laden,’ Dr Bamford explains. ‘Think about it: you’re more likely to criticise your appearance over, say, the way you walk.’