Advertisement

Coronavirus Lockdown Has Made People Feel Worse About Their Bodies, Says Report

The Covid-19 lockdown made people feel “much worse” about their body image, with people under 18 struggling the most, a new survey has revealed.

The body image survey, carried out by MPs on the Commons’ women and equalities committee, found 58% of people under 18 and 53% of adults said lockdown has damaged their view of their appearance.

Seeing more online ads for weight loss products, the closure of gyms, media articles about “lockdown weight gain” and less mental health support were all cited as reasons for the collapse in self-esteem.

Just a small proportion (14% of adults and 16% of children) said lockdown made them feel better or much better, adding they had time to focus on their health and felt less societal pressure to look good.

The survey underlined that Brits have poor body image overall, with the majority of people feeling negative about themselves most of the time (61% of adults, 66% of children).

Women, people with a disability and transgender people were most likely to have a negative view of their body.

Six in 10 women felt negative about their body, blaming diet culture, post-natal pressures, “being bombarded with images of photoshopped, edited and sexualised women” and seeing fewer older women in the media.

A total of 71% of people with a disability reported feeling bad about their body image, compared with 60% of adults overall. They reported bad experiences with healthcare professionals, who focused heavily on their weight, and feelings of being “ignored, judged or isolated about their appearance”.

Not a single transgender person said they felt “very positive” about their body image, and 23% said they felt very negative most of the time (compared with 12% of non-transgender people).

Because it’s such a widespread problem, influenced by multiple factors, it’s easy to underestimate the real misery it causes – and to so many people.Equalities committee chair, Caroline Nokes, on body image

Trans people said...

Continue reading on HuffPost