body image essay introduction

Essays About Body Image: Top 5 Examples Plus Prompts

Essays about body image tackle delicate subjects like insecurities and mental illnesses; to effectively discuss it with tact, see our top essay examples.

The term “body image” refers to how you see and feel about your appearance. Although many support body positivity today and push for body acceptance, studies still show that 86% of women suffer from negative body image and want to lose weight . The inability to accept oneself results in low self-esteem, stress, and depression. Picking body image as your essay topic lets you join the discussion regarding this always-timely issue. Consider the examples listed below as inspiration for your essay:

1. Long Essay on Body Image by Prasanna

2. gender and body image essay by anonymous on ivypanda.com, 3. the negative body image presented by the media by anonymous on gradesfixer.com, 4. social media and body image by anonymous on edubirdie.com, 5. negative body images essay by writer valeria, 1. aspects of body image, 2. body image: the good and the bad, 3. factors affecting teenager body image, 4. beauty pageants: pros and cons, 5. body image and mental health, 6. victoria’s secret models and body image, 7. men’s body image, 8. what is body shaming, 9. knowing what’s real: curating my body image, 10. my journey to self-love.

“People have forgotten the concept of inner beauty. A person should always think of themselves to be perfect in front of the mirror.”

Prasanna explains what body image means, including its consequences in the form of disorders. She delves into how a person’s perception of their physical appearance affects their lives and how it’s now a big problem in today’s society. The author believes cultivating a supportive environment dramatically improves one’s body image. In the end, she reminds the readers how God made everyone unique in their own right and to start having a positive attitude towards their bodies.

You might also be interested in these articles and essays about appearance .

“Online blogs, television, and films all provide examples of perfect female and male bodies. When real people compare themselves to these ideals, they experience dissatisfaction with their body that results in body image issues.”

The essay scrutinizes ideals that trigger someone’s body issues, often leading to physical and mental problems. For example, today’s ideal female body is fit, with low body fat and a slim waist. Meanwhile, men should be muscular with sharp facial features. Because these are the only acceptable “right” bodies, many go through unhealthy diets, take dubious pills, and engage in strenuous exercises. The writer supports the body positivity movement that demands diversity from mass media.

See how to write an essay about diversity if you want to write about it instead.

“The media also provide unrealistic body image that no human can meet without causing harm to themselves.”

Harmful diets, dangerous treatments, expensive surgeries – people do these and many more to achieve and maintain the perfect body presented in mass media. This “false advertising” even results in eating disorders and food-related diseases. The essay adds research findings and relevant cases to support the author’s distaste for mass media’s impact on individuals’ perceptions of themselves.

“… social networking can cause an individual to set a high expectation on themselves. The media encompasses a set thought of what is attractive and what is not attractive.”

While social media is a great platform to promote healthy living, the author brings up how it also presents unrealistic body standards. Although most are thanks to digital editing, photos depicting perfect body images of celebrities, models, and influencers on social media still affect individuals’ concept of how they should look. By constantly seeing these “perfect” photos online, people turn to doctoring their pictures and deluding themselves into thinking they look like something they aren’t. Sometimes, people even go under the knife to replicate their altered photos.

“Seeing overly skinny models in the media does not enhance women’s self-esteem, self-worth or self-image.”

In this essay, Valeria shares her review of the book Understanding Negative Body Image by Barbara Moe which focuses on the culture’s obsession with weight, shape, and body image. The writer includes her favorite part of the book, where flat chests are fashionable in Ms. America. She compares it to today, where bigger breasts and thinner bodies are preferred. Valeria believes the media needs to show more diverse and realistic body shapes to reduce negative body image.

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10 Helpful Writing Prompts On Essays About Body Image

Are the samples above effective in giving you inspiration for your essay? If you’re still thinking of what to write about, you can use the following prompts:

Identify and explain the four main aspects of body image: perceptual, affective, cognitive, and behavioral. Provide examples to make it easier for the readers to understand how they differ and contribute to a person’s overall body image. Add surveys or research findings to support your statements and increase your essay’s credibility.

You don’t create your body image with your eyes alone. Your feelings and thoughts about your body are also part of the equation. These are all the results of your experiences, whether they are positive or negative. For this prompt, share any encounters that affected how you look at your body. 

Youngsters in their puberty are the most affected by today’s body image pressures. First, discuss factors that significantly impact how teenagers value themselves. Then, share steps to help young people overcome these issues. You can also write down the causes and warning signs of a negative body image.

Write your opinion about the “beauty” standards in beauty pageants and whether you favor them or not. Talk about its benefits and drawbacks to children, adult participants, and anyone who consumes such media. To demonstrate the severity of these standards, present cases where a contestant’s appearance or body became the matter in question.

The pressures of attaining a perfect body take their toll on an individual’s quality of life. These taxing pressures, such as eating disorders, anxiety, and mood swings, spill over the person’s relations and even hinder everyday living. Therefore, incorporate the importance of maintaining a positive body image to achieve healthy psychological and physical well-being.

Victoria’s Secret, a brand known for its skinny models, hired its first-ever plus-size model in 2019 . Find out why the brand made this significant change and how its customers received it. Include your opinion about the brand’s decision. Add if you believe the company did what it did to start a more diverse line of clothing or because it succumbed to people’s demand of wanting to see more realistic bodies in media.

Although most body image essays are about women, men also cope with self-acceptance. Discuss common problems men have to deal with daily regarding their appearance. Integrate how men are described in books and movies and probe how these visuals can affect a man’s ego. To make your essay more compelling, you can also delve into why there are more rigid rules on beauty standards imposed on women versus men.

Explore what encompasses body shaming and add why people do it. Relay to your readers how it affects people with a history of depression, low self-esteem, trauma, and other mental illnesses. Through this prompt, your essay will help raise awareness against body shaming. You might also be interested in these articles about eating disorders .

One excellent way to improve body image is to tailor what you see, especially on social media. Then, remind yourself that these photos are altered and unnatural. For this essay, list steps that can help protect one’s self-image away from the fake “perfect” bodies flooding mass media. For example, add joining groups highlighting edits in photoshop pictures, etc.

Everyone has something they want to change regarding their appearance. Through this essay, share what you did to overcome the struggles of accepting yourself as you are. You can also recommend books that helped change your perspective.

If you are interested in learning more, check out our essay writing tips !

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Home — Essay Samples — Psychology — Personality Psychology — Body Image

Essays on Body Image

Body image essay topics and outline examples, essay title 1: the impact of media on body image: examining stereotypes, unrealistic standards, and their consequences.

Thesis Statement: This essay investigates the influence of media on body image, highlighting the perpetuation of stereotypes, promotion of unrealistic beauty standards, and the resulting psychological and social consequences on individuals.

• Introduction
• Media Portrayals: Analyzing the Representation of Bodies in Advertising, Film, and Social Media
• Unrealistic Standards: Identifying Idealized Body Types and Their Pervasiveness
• Psychological Effects: Exploring Body Dissatisfaction, Low Self-Esteem, and Eating Disorders
• Social Consequences: Investigating Peer Pressure, Bullying, and Societal Expectations
• Media Responsibility: Discussing Accountability and Potential Solutions
• Conclusion: Reflecting on the Need for Positive Body Image Promotion

Essay Title 2: Body Image and Gender: A Comparative Study of Body Dissatisfaction Among Men and Women

Thesis Statement: This essay examines body image concerns among both men and women, comparing the factors contributing to body dissatisfaction and the unique societal pressures faced by each gender.

• Gendered Expectations: Analyzing Societal Norms and Stereotypes for Men and Women
• Body Dissatisfaction Among Women: Factors, Causes, and Consequences
• Body Dissatisfaction Among Men: Influences, Pressures, and Effects
• Comparative Analysis: Identifying Commonalities and Differences
• Media and Gender: Examining the Role of Media in Shaping Body Image
• Conclusion: Encouraging Inclusivity and Acceptance of Diverse Body Types

Essay Title 3: Promoting Positive Body Image: Strategies for Building Self-Esteem, Confidence, and Healthy Body Image

Thesis Statement: This essay explores strategies and interventions aimed at promoting positive body image, fostering self-esteem, confidence, and a healthy relationship with one's body.

• Body Positivity Movement: Overview and Goals
• Self-Esteem Building: Strategies for Enhancing Self-Worth
• Media Literacy: Teaching Critical Evaluation of Media Messages
• Educational Programs: Implementing Body Image Curriculum in Schools
• Supportive Communities: Creating Safe Spaces for Discussions and Support
• Conclusion: Empowering Individuals to Embrace Their Bodies

Social Media's Impact on Ideal Body Standards

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Body image refers to an individual's perception, thoughts, feelings, and attitudes toward their own physical appearance, including their size, shape, and overall attractiveness. It encompasses the subjective evaluation and interpretation of one's body, influenced by societal standards, cultural ideals, personal experiences, and internalized beliefs.

The term "body image" originated in the early 20th century and emerged as a concept in the field of psychology. It was first introduced by Austrian-American psychoanalyst Paul Schilder in his influential book "The Image and Appearance of the Human Body" published in 1935. Schilder used the term to describe the mental representation or perception an individual has of their own body. He recognized that body image is not solely based on physical appearance but also influenced by one's subjective experiences, emotions, and cultural factors.

The historical context of the concept of body image is rooted in the cultural and societal values that have evolved over time. Throughout history, different civilizations and time periods have held varying perceptions and ideals of physical beauty. In ancient civilizations such as Egypt, Greece, and Rome, physical attractiveness was often associated with ideals of symmetry, proportion, and strength. These ideals were reflected in the art, sculptures, and literature of the time. During the Renaissance period, beauty ideals shifted to embrace fuller figures, as seen in the works of renowned artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael. However, in subsequent centuries, a slender and delicate physique became more prominent as the desired standard of beauty. In the 20th and 21st centuries, mass media and globalization have greatly influenced body image perceptions. The rise of fashion magazines, advertising, and the entertainment industry has propagated a narrow and often unrealistic ideal of beauty, emphasizing thinness and specific physical features.

Internal factors include personal experiences, emotions, and cognitive processes. These include past traumas, social comparisons, self-esteem, and the development of one's self-concept. Personal beliefs, attitudes, and thoughts about body size, shape, and appearance also play a role in shaping body image. External factors encompass societal, cultural, and media influences. Societal beauty standards, cultural ideals of attractiveness, and media portrayals of the "ideal" body can significantly impact how individuals perceive themselves. Media platforms, such as magazines, television, and social media, can shape body image by promoting unrealistic body standards and presenting edited or curated representations of beauty. Family, peers, and social interactions also contribute to body image. Supportive relationships, positive feedback, and acceptance from significant others can foster a healthy body image, while negative comments, teasing, or bullying can have detrimental effects.

Positive body image: Individuals with positive body image have a realistic and accepting view of their bodies. They appreciate their bodies for their functionality, health, and unique qualities, rather than solely focusing on appearance. Negative body image: Negative body image involves a distorted and critical perception of one's body. Individuals with negative body image may experience dissatisfaction, self-consciousness, and preoccupation with perceived flaws or imperfections. Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD): BDD is a psychological disorder characterized by an obsessive preoccupation with perceived flaws in one's appearance. Individuals with BDD may have a distorted body image and engage in compulsive behaviors or seek excessive cosmetic interventions. Body dissatisfaction: Body dissatisfaction refers to a general sense of discontentment with one's body. It can range from mild dissatisfaction to extreme distress and may be influenced by societal beauty standards and cultural ideals. Body appreciation: Body appreciation involves having a positive and accepting attitude towards one's body. It focuses on self-care, self-acceptance, and nurturing a healthy relationship with the body.

Body positivity: There is a growing movement advocating for body positivity, which promotes acceptance and appreciation of diverse body types and challenges traditional beauty standards. Supporters emphasize the importance of self-love, inclusivity, and embracing one's unique features. Body shaming: Body shaming involves criticizing or ridiculing individuals based on their appearance. It can come from societal pressures, media influences, or personal biases. However, there is an increasing awareness of the harm caused by body shaming and efforts to combat it. Unrealistic beauty standards: Many people believe that media and advertising perpetuate unrealistic beauty standards, leading to negative body image issues. These standards often promote thinness, muscularity, or other specific physical attributes, which can contribute to feelings of inadequacy or pressure to conform. Mental health implications: There is a growing recognition of the impact of body image on mental health. Public opinion is increasingly acknowledging the need for support, education, and resources to address body image concerns, including eating disorders, body dysmorphia, and low self-esteem.

Media: In recent years, there has been an increased effort to feature diverse body types and promote body positivity. Brands like Dove have launched campaigns celebrating real beauty, challenging narrow beauty ideals. The popular TV show "This Is Us" has been praised for its portrayal of characters with different body shapes and sizes, promoting body acceptance. Literature: Books like "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy and "The Beauty Myth" by Naomi Wolf have tackled body image issues. "Dumplin'" explores the journey of a plus-sized teen challenging beauty pageant norms, while "The Beauty Myth" critically analyzes the societal pressures placed on women's bodies. Social media: Influencers and content creators on platforms like Instagram and YouTube have played a significant role in shaping body image discussions. Body-positive influencers like Ashley Graham and Iskra Lawrence promote self-love and body acceptance through their platforms. Documentaries: Documentaries like "Embrace" and "The Illusionists" delve into the impact of media on body image and challenge conventional beauty standards. They examine the relationship between media representation, self-esteem, and body image issues.

1. According to a survey by the National Eating Disorders Association, 81% of 10-year-olds are afraid of being fat. 2. Research indicates that exposure to thin-ideal media images can negatively impact body satisfaction and contribute to the development of eating disorders. 3. The fashion industry has faced criticism for promoting unrealistic body standards. In a study analyzing popular fashion magazines, it was found that 70% of women featured were considered underweight. 4. Body dissatisfaction affects both men and women. Approximately 45% of men in Western countries reported being dissatisfied with their appearance. 5. Studies show that individuals who spend more time on social media platforms are more likely to experience body dissatisfaction.

The topic of body image is an important subject to explore and write an essay about due to its widespread impact on individuals and society. Body image issues are pervasive in our culture, affecting people of all ages and genders. Understanding the significance of body image is crucial for several reasons. Firstly, body image has a profound impact on individuals' mental health and well-being. Negative body image can lead to low self-esteem, body dissatisfaction, and the development of eating disorders. Exploring the causes, consequences, and potential solutions to body image issues can help raise awareness and promote healthier attitudes towards one's body. Secondly, body image is closely linked to societal standards and media influence. Analyzing how media, fashion, and advertising industries perpetuate unrealistic beauty ideals allows us to critically examine the impact of these industries on individuals' self-perception and self-worth. Lastly, body image intersects with various social issues such as gender, race, and body diversity. Addressing body image concerns involves understanding the complex dynamics of identity, representation, and inclusivity.

1. Cash, T. F., & Pruzinsky, T. (Eds.). (2002). Body image: A handbook of theory, research, and clinical practice. Guilford Press. 2. Dittmar, H., & Howard, S. (Eds.). (2004). Body image, eating disorders, and obesity in youth: Assessment, prevention, and treatment. American Psychological Association. 3. Fredrickson, B. L., & Roberts, T. A. (Eds.). (1997). Objectification theory: Toward understanding women's lived experiences and mental health risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21(2), 173-206. 4. Garner, D. M., & Garfinkel, P. E. (Eds.). (1997). Handbook of treatment for eating disorders (2nd ed.). Guilford Press. 5. Grogan, S. (2016). Body image: Understanding body dissatisfaction in men, women, and children (4th ed.). Routledge. 6. Halliwell, E. (2015). Body image: Understanding body dissatisfaction in men, women, and children. Sage Publications. 7. Levine, M. P., & Smolak, L. (Eds.). (2014). The Wiley handbook of eating disorders (2nd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. 8. Rumsey, N., & Harcourt, D. (Eds.). (2005). The Oxford handbook of the psychology of appearance. Oxford University Press. 9. Tiggemann, M. (2018). Positive body image: A handbook of science, practice, and prevention. Oxford University Press. 10. Thompson, J. K., & Smolak, L. (Eds.). (2001). Body image, eating disorders, and obesity in youth: Assessment, prevention, and treatment (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association.

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Body Image Essay | Essay on Body Image for Students and Children in English

February 13, 2024 by Prasanna

Body Image Essay:  Body image is a person’s perspective of their body. It means how a person sees themselves. It includes positive and negative thoughts about themselves.

People from all around the world try to impress others with body image. Majority try to improve their body image, just to fit in today’s world of perfect physical appearance.

You can also find more  Essay Writing  articles on events, persons, sports, technology and many more.

Long and Short Essays on Body Image for Students and Kids in English

We are providing the students with essay samples of a long essay of 500 words in English and a short essay of 150 words on Body Image in English for reference.

Long Essay on Body Image 500 Words in English

Long Essay on Body Image is usually given to classes 7, 8, 9, and 10.

The concept of body image is the perception a person has regarding their body and physical appearance. Body image can be negative or positive. A person with a negative mindset regarding his or her body image might feel self-conscious about themselves. They suffer from low self-esteem and try to change their physical appearance trying to look attractive. But this creates higher risks and disorders.

Positive body image, on the other hand, means when a person perceives their body correctly, celebrating and appreciating one’s appearance. Family dynamics, mental illness contribute to a person’s body image. There are various side effects if a person is not happy with their body image.

A person might perceive themselves to be overweight when they are underweight. How a person feels about their body is their compelling body image. It is the amount of satisfaction and dissatisfaction a person thinks with the shape, weight and appearance of their different body parts. The way a person feels regarding their body is known as the cognitive body image.

Having a negative body image can impact a person’s life in a very negative way. You cannot turn your negative body thoughts into a positive body image. One always needs to feel good about themselves. A person should appreciate everything that their body can do. A person should always remind themselves that true beauty is still the inner beauty of a person, and it cannot be decided based on physical appearance. Every person deserves to feel comfortable in their own skin and their own body. They should not worry about how they look. Body image has become an enormous problem in today’s society. It is mostly affecting teenagers who are going through puberty.

Friends, family, society tend to point out to teenagers, or even adults, about their body type and thus it results in the teenagers to crave for the perfect body, and they end up harming themselves. Body image can highly be influenced by the people surrounding that individual.

Many are facing problems with body image insecurity, mostly the females of the world. Getting the perfect body has become the primary goal of every individual nowadays, but it comes with its bagful of dangers. People are affecting their health, to look perfect in front of society, forgetting about the nourishments that their bodies require.

Every individual is unique due to their own physical trait. Every human being is made in a different manner with a body type solely for themselves. People should make up their minds that the media or society will not influence them. One should eat healthily and stay healthy, and not think about how they look because humans are God’ gifts, and each individual is made beautifully. People have forgotten the concept of inner beauty. A person should always think of themselves to be perfect in front of the mirror. To have a positive attitude towards your body will help you in the long-run.

Short Essay on Body Image 150 Words in English

Short Essay on Body Image is usually given to classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

One’s body makes them feel what they are. Every individual has an opinion regarding how his or her body should be. Changing a person’s personal features will take away their individuality from them. Body image is how people picture themselves. It is what a person feels about their body. It is their imagination, emotion and physical sensations of their body.

Nowadays, society promotes unrealistic body ideals. To fulfil the needs of the society, of how society sees an individual, people are going through depression anger and even self-loathing. One should have a healthy body image of themselves because it forms a significant pillar for self-esteem. It also influences self-acceptance and attitude towards daily life activities. People have become more sensitive nowadays. With the body-shaming doing the rounds in the present-day society, a simple compliment to someone, regarding their appearance, will not only boost them but will also increase their confidence. It will help them to be themselves, not caring about what the society has to say.

10 Lines on Body Image in English

• Almost 92% of females around the world are unhappy with their bodies.
• Only 5% of women obtain the body that they yearn for.
• People who are not satisfied with their body image might suffer from eating disorders.
• Body image is very closely linked to self-esteem.
• Mostly teenagers face the pressure of being overweight.
• Media plays a significant role in body image.
• Negative body image can lead to suicidal thoughts in an individual.
• Higher body dissatisfaction is associated with a more inferior quality of life.
• Body satisfaction has led to the overall well being of an individual.
• 37% of teenagers feel ashamed concerning their body image.

FAQ’s on Body Image Essay

Question 1. How can a person improve their body image?

Answer:  There are many ways in which a person can improve their body image. A person should always look at themselves as a whole person and not just the physical appearance. A person should always surround themselves with positive people. True and inner beauty is not skin deep.

Question 2. How can a person stop body image problems?

Answer: A healthy lifestyle, with proper diet and sleep along with daily exercise, will help to reduce body image problems.

Question 3. What are the four aspects of body image?

Answer: The four aspects of body image are affective, cognitive, behavioural and perpetual. It is all about how a person sees themselves.

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The GW Hatchet

Essay: Finding peace with my body image

Rachel Armany, a freshman majoring in journalism, is a Hatchet opinions writer.

Early memories have the power to shape who you are. Everyone has experienced specific things that have influenced how they act and think as an adult. Unfortunately, in my life, many of my formative moments centered around my struggles with body image.

For most of my life, I have been very aware of how others perceive the way I look. My tendency to analyze social interactions in several aspects of my life is sometimes helpful, but often forces me to be harder on myself and the way I look. Ever since I was in high school, whenever I’m around someone I don’t know well – perhaps at a job interview or a school orientation – I actively use body language to make myself appear thinner.

I’m not unique in disliking parts of myself. Most people have things they wish they could change about their appearance. But my size isn’t just something I’ve struggled with “liking.” From a young age, I have believed my weight and appearance were how I would be defined and would dictate how others treat me. I began to think that any weight I gained would just be more of a reason for people to dislike me and that any weight that I lost would account for my popularity.

I never thought less of anyone else who gained weight – it was a completely personal struggle. When it came to my body, I felt like I had to compensate: I had to be funny or smart or artsy to avoid being defined by my physical appearance.

I started to notice that my body didn’t look like my friends’ when I was in fourth grade. I remember sitting with my best friend and asking, “Do you think I’m fat?” Given our age and lack of any education or discussion on body image, she was startled by my question and immediately responded, “No, of course not.” But her response didn’t comfort me. I felt like she said those words out of pity. My friend didn’t mean any harm. In fact, she probably meant to make me feel better. But since then, I have been hyper aware of my body because I realized that the way I see myself isn’t the same as how others see me.

My confidence in my body and weight hasn’t always been dictated by the number on a scale or by the way I feel. But rather, hearing people talk about weight gain as a negative has affected how I feel about myself. One friend always used to tell me I’m on “the good side of plus-sized.” Although that might be an innocent enough statement, all it does is tell me that I’m overweight but not in an aesthetically displeasing way. The statement indirectly warns me of the “bad side of plus-sized” – the scary fate that is being overweight enough to claim the title of “the fat girl.”

Being on the “good side of plus-sized” comes with complications. My mom’s friends used to question her on what she let me eat because they feared I would “get fat.” In middle school, I felt like I had to prove to my friends that I was active and healthy. And even today, I worry over normal weight fluctuations – all to try and avoid people sharing their “concerns” with my size. Although those people might think they’re just looking out for me, they should not feel compelled to comment on my weight if I am not at risk for health problems.

Discussing body image is difficult, especially as a young girl, and even now as an adult. Talking about insecurities is always scary. But with body image, people are quick to tell you that things are just in your head if they aren’t expressing their concerns about you. Even today, hearing things like, “You’re not even fat” does little to help me. Hearing that confirms that if I were a bit heavier I should feel bad about myself and makes me even more fearful that people will judge me for gaining weight.

What I have found to be most helpful is when people allow me to speak openly about why I feel the way I do about my body and talk with me about accepting myself – not about changing it. For example, a positive conversation is one that encourages me to exercise because it makes me feel better, not because I should lose some extra weight. Those conversations are the ones that contribute to my self confidence, because I feel that my voice is being heard, even though the discussion may be more uncomfortable than a friend simply saying I’m not fat.

I understand that sometimes friends or family members may not always know how to respond to someone struggling with the way they look. Those closest to us love us the way we are and want us to accept ourselves, too. So I remain patient with the people in my life, but I am also honest with them. I try to let people know as often as I can when I feel like they are not taking an issue seriously or they are attempting to take the easy way out of an awkward encounter. Ultimately my problems are my own – it is up to me to work on them – but having these conversations with people who care about me helps.

Though my personal struggle with my weight is ongoing, I have made great strides in learning how to live with the body I have. I am beginning to listen to my body and understand how it works in order to develop a healthy lifestyle. I hope to stop overanalyzing and keep developing my confidence, instead of treating a number on a scale as the key to a better life.

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Body image: A better perspective

Many people think of body image as a women’s issue or a young person’s issue. in actuality, we all  have a perceived body image that affects so many aspects of our lives — including the opportunities we seek. .

What exactly is body image, and how can we cultivate a better, more healthy image so that we get the most out of life? To learn more, we talked to Dr. Kristine Luce , p sychologist and clinical associate professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine. 

Your body image is defined by your personal perception. 

Dr. Luce defines body image as how a person thinks of, feels about and perceives their own body, and how a person imagines others perceive their body.

“Body image is an aspect of identity. Most people tend to self-identify by segmenting their lives into different roles. For example, a person may self-identify according to their profession, relationships, hobbies, etc. Body image is one aspect of a person’s complete identity, and within it a person can hold many perceptions, even contradicting perceptions.”

Although body image is commonly understood as having to do with weight and shape, the term actually encompasses all aspects of a person’s perceived physical appearance  — including age, facial attributes and gender. 

Body image exists on a continuum.

Dr. Luce views body image along a continuum, with “positive body image” on one end, “negative body image” on the other and the middle composed of varying aspects of both. 

Dr. Luce describes a positive body image as a healthy self-image, in which a person has self-compassion and appreciation for their body. They recognize the amazing functions of their body and don’t let how they feel about their appearance limit how they live their life. On the other end of the spectrum, a person with a negative body image tends to be strongly self-critical and less attuned to the beneficial capabilities and functions of their bodies. 

Most people, however, do not fall on one extreme or the other. The vast majority of people have varying degrees of appreciation and criticism for their bodies. Terms like “positive” and “negative” tend to be inadequate for fully capturing a person’s felt experience, which is generally more nuanced than binary. For example, when speaking about body image, a person may “fragment” and speak about parts of their bodies they like, and parts that they don’t like. Others might describe feeling positive about their bodies overall, but still want to change certain physical aspects.

A person’s body image is dynamic and ever changing throughout the lifespan. People tend to move along a continuum of how they perceive themselves at various stages of life, such as when they age or gain or lose weight.

Many factors contribute to a person’s body image.

Dr. Luce explains that we are constantly inundated with body image messages from many different sources, including history, economics, religion, family of origin and the media, which is the most prevalent.

Luce describes a series of studies conducted in Fiji before western TV was brought to the island. At that time there were no known cases of eating disorders in Fiji. The studies revealed that the first cases of eating and body image disorders emerged after western TV was brought to their culture, indicating that media presence was at least a contributing factor in how people perceived their bodies. 

“Culture has long influenced body image by defining and dictating what is attractive. The media is a strong force that can shape and influence culture, for better or for worse.” 

Other societal factors, including economic history and religion, can also contribute to one’s body image. Luce mentions that a higher body weight used to be a sign of fertility and wealth when resources were more scarce, but as resources have become more accessible, thinness or fitness is seen as a symbol of wealth because it indicates more time for self-care. For some religious groups, a thinner appearance could indicate a greater ability for fasting, which is associated with the virtue of self-control and used as a measure of spiritual virtue. 

Finally, an individual’s personal history and upbringing can influence the way they perceive themselves and their bodies. For example, if someone is raised in a household or social environment in which a person’s value is very closely tied to their physical appearance, a person may begin to perceive their bodies as a measure of their self-worth. 

With the constant onslaught of information we are receiving about how we think we should look, Dr. Luce assures us it is understandable if we feel pressure to look a certain way. 

Body image can impact the choices we make in our lives.

Put simply, overconcern about appearance can limit what opportunities a person seeks. Dr. Luce gives several examples of this phenomenon, termed “self-handicapping” in social psychology. Self-handicapping is a cognitive strategy in which people avoid an opportunity to protect their self-esteem against the possibility of failure. For example, if a person makes the assumption that they will be discriminated against because of their appearance, they may not go for a promotion. 

“Research on this subject shows that a strong enough limiting self-belief can restrict access and experiences throughout the lifespan. This is based on an assumption that may or may not be true.”

Other common examples of self-handicapping due to body image include postponing dating until reaching a particular appearance or avoiding visiting the doctor until reaching a desired weight. According to Luce, these are paradoxical approaches that rarely work, and often bring us further from our desired outcomes. 

“When you think about it, most people want to look a certain way for more access in life, whether it be jobs, partners, health or something else. By avoiding promotions, dating and doctor visits due to body image concerns, our access to our desired outcomes becomes more and more limited. On the other hand, people who feel positively in their bodies are more likely to seek out opportunities in all of these areas.”  

Negative body image persists throughout different demographic groups.

According to Luce, there used to be evidence that negative body image occurred more for women than for men, and more for white women than for other ethnic groups — but the gap has narrowed over time.

“In the last 20 to 30 years, there has been a proliferation of body image marketing to every ethnic group and gender. Now you can find body image advertising that targets everybody, thus increasing body image concerns and eating disorders across all types of people. I call it, ‘equal opportunity in the direction we were not hoping for.’”

Research conducted in the 1980s showed it was rare for people to feel positive in their bodies, which is a feeling that still persists, according to a 2018 poll .

There are many strategies for cultivating a more positive body image.

Dr. Luce encourages her patients to act according to their values rather than their negative self-beliefs. An example of this would be encouraging someone to go to the beach, if that is what they enjoy, even though they might also feel uncomfortable in a bathing suit. This is called a “cognitive dissonance intervention,” based on the theory that increasing the tension (or dissonance) between a person’s thoughts and actions will eventually create a new belief. Dissonance interventions are really about being aware of one’s values, living in alignment with them and not letting one’s beliefs limit opportunities in life. 

“Sometimes the discomfort gets better at first, and sometimes it takes a while. But feeling the warmth of the sun or the coolness of the water can make the volume of those negative thoughts turn down, or at least fade them into the background.”

Another intervention, applied on a more macro scale, is counter-attitudinal marketing, which features people of various body sizes, shapes and ethnicities in advertisements.

“I used to have a lot of optimism around counter-advertising and counter-marketing as a strategy for improving body image across culture. I still believe it can work for people who are open to it.” 

However, counter-attitudinal ads represent a very small percentage of mass media and social media images. The vast majority of media displays are not representative of the average body type: many are altered by image editing applications like Photoshop and filters, and some even represent an unhealthy body image. By understanding this fact, and being selective of our media exposure, we can begin to combat some of the negative effects of body image marketing.  Luce acknowledges this is not an easy feat:

“Negative body image beliefs are deeply entrenched for some people and changing these thoughts, for some, can be very challenging.” 

Luce goes on to describe how undoing a belief can be harder than building a new one, especially when we are exposed to so many media images and messages that are constantly reinforcing certain ideas. 

  Dr. Luce also encourages us to think about the way we speak about bodies and how this might affect body image for ourselves and our communities. 

“We can all refuse to engage in conversations about other people’s bodies. By choosing to not engage in appearance-based conversations, we can influence the world by modeling our values.”

A similar strategy is reconsidering our appearance-based decisions as a message to the world. Dr. Luce admits that she doesn’t color her hair because she doesn’t want to give into the pressures around ageism. However, she acknowledges this type of action can be challenging because ageism and appearance-based discrimination exists in many fields. 

“I am a psychologist in academia, so looking ‘old and wise’ is still valued. I recognize there are many people who feel they have to look a certain way to keep their jobs.”

Although we may not all be able to take such a strong action, everybody can do something to show the perception of feeling comfortable in the body they have. By choosing an alternative action that goes against societal pressures around body image, we can make changes that influence ourselves and the world around us.

Dr. Luce closes with a note of encouragement. “Body image is not static. Throughout life we move along a continuum of how we perceive ourselves. Regardless of how we feel about it at any given moment, we can have a full and meaningful life in the bodies we have.”

Mia Primeau July 2020

Select resources: Stanford Health Image Body Program The Body Positive Stanford Research Project Stanford Children’s Health: Boost Your Teen Daughter’s Body Image National Eating Disorders: The Body Project

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• v.61(1); 2021

Towards a Comprehensive Understanding of Body Image: Integrating Positive Body Image, Embodiment and Self-Compassion

Diana burychka.

1 Department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment, University of Valencia, Spain

2 Polibienestar Institute, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain

Marta Miragall

3 CIBER Fisiopatología Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN), Instituto Carlos III, Spain

Rosa M. Baños

Body image (BI) disturbance is a relevant factor in the etiology and treatment of eating disorders (ED). Although progress has been made in recent decades in understanding BI and its relationship with ED, the efficacy of BI disturbance prevention and intervention programs is still limited. In order to reach deeper understanding of BI disturbance and clarify the interactions between some protective and risk factors related to this construct, we carried out a literature review on some specific BI-related factors that so far have been analyzed independently. We specifically examined positive and negative BI; embodiment and its role in the development of positive and negative BI; and self-compassion as a protective factor that promotes positive embodiment (vs. disembodiment) and protection against body shame. We conclude that integrating the available evidence on these factors into BI models may be used to enhance our understanding of BI and improve the efficacy of prevention and intervention programs to help fight negative BI (by reducing body shame and disembodiment) and promote positive BI (by increasing self-compassion and positive embodiment).

Body Image (BI) is a multidimensional concept that involves people’s positive and negative perceptions, thoughts, behaviors, and attitudes about their body and appearance ( Gardner, 1996 ; Garner & Garfinkel, 1982 , Grogan, 2016 ). The term was coined by Paul Schilder ( 1935 ), who defined BI as the mental representation of one’s body that everyone develops. The BI development process is dynamic, and it is influenced not only by the physical (e.g., body size or shape) or psychological (e.g., perfectionism, low self-esteem) characteristics of the individual, but also by the socio-cultural context (e.g., cultural ideal of beauty, media pressure to achieve an ideal of beauty) ( Cash, 2002 ; Wertheim & Paxton, 2011 ). Moreover, BI is linked to the multifaceted psychological experience of embodying one’s body ( Cash, 2004 ). Hence, BI is not only related to the way people perceive their body, but it also influences the way they interact with the world through that body ( Piran & Teall, 2012 ).

BI disturbance (BID) has been identified as a key factor in the development and maintenance of eating disorders (ED) in general ( Glashouwer et al., 2019 ; Mora-Giral et al., 2004 ; Stice & Shaw, 2002 ) and anorexia nervosa ( Dakanalis et al., 2016 ) and bulimia nervosa ( Degortes et al., 2018 ; Sattler et al., 2019 ), in particular. Furthermore, BID is also a crucial factor in the relapse and poor prognosis of these disorders ( Bachner-Melman et al., 2006 ; Carter et al., 2004 ; Glashouwer et al., 2019 ), as well as their increasing prevalence ( Mitchison et al., 2020 ), especially in the adolescent and young adult population ( Treasure et al., 2010 ). Furthermore, even in the absence of an ED, BID is a risk factor that impacts the individual’s quality of life ( Hosseini & Padhy, 2019 ).

Despite the large amount of research being conducted in the field, the efficacy of BI-focused interventions in ED remains limited ( Alleva et al., 2015 ; Ziser et al., 2018 ). Particularly, interventions targeting BI only, lead to small improvement, highlighting the need for enhancing current therapeutic strategies ( Alleva et al., 2015 ; Linardon et al., 2017 , 2018 ; Linardon & Wade, 2018 ). Additionally, there is evidence that BID persists in patients with ED once the intervention is finished ( Engel & Keizer, 2017 ; Eshkevari et al., 2014 ). Thus, it is necessary to consider other relevant BI-related protective and risk factors that may help improve existing assessment and intervention ED programs. For instance, there is evidence on the relationship between lower BID and higher level of positive embodiment ( Cook-Cottone, 2015 ; Homan & Tylka, 2014 ) and higher levels of self-compassion ( Braun et al., 2016 ). However, although over the last years these protective factors have gained prominence in the positive BI field ( Braun et al., 2016 ), they have been explored independently (i.e., have not been integrated in explicative models of BID). Integrating these factors in more comprehensive explicative models may increase our understanding on the origin and maintenance of BID in patients with ED.

The aim of this paper was to carry out a narrative review of the existing literature on key protective and risk factors that are being related to higher positive BI and lower negative BI (i.e., sense of embodiment, self-compassion, and body shame). Specifically, this study will review: (1) positive and negative BI, (2) embodiment and its role in the development of positive and negative BI, and (3) self-compassion as a protective factor that promotes positive embodiment (vs disembodiment) and protects against body shame. Analysis of these factors may provide further insights into the complex construct of BI and help us to better understand their role in ED.

In this narrative review, we first analyze the traditional perspective, which is focused on negative BI. However, we also highlight the importance of positive BI (e.g., body acceptance), as well as its associated protective and risk factors. Thus, we first consider positive embodiment (vs. disembodiment ) -a positive connection with one’s body- as a protective factor of positive and negative BI ( Cook-Cottone, 2018 ). Embodiment, although considered for decades as relevant in this field ( Cash, 2004 ), has been long overlooked and requires reconsideration to reach a more comprehensive understanding of BI. Second, we examine body shame ‒a self-conscious emotion that can disturb the connection to one’s body‒ ( Piran & Neumark-Sztainer, 2020 ), a specific risk factor of negative BI in patients with ED and non-clinical ED samples (e.g., Ferreira et al., 2013 ; Duarte et al., 2015 ). Finally, we explore the role of self-compassion ‒the experience of understanding one’s own pain in a non-judgmental way and seeing suffering as a part of a shared human experience‒ ( Neff, 2003 ), given its role in cultivating connection to one’s own body (positive embodiment) and positive BI ( Braun et al., 2016 ). Self-compassion has emerged as a protective factor against body shame and disembodiment, and is one of the most effective intervention techniques in this field to reduce BID ( Braun et al., 2016 ).

This review proposes that the integration of dimensions from positive and negative BI will result in a more comprehensive approach to BI. Therefore, the incorporation of factors associated to positive BI (i.e., positive embodiment, self-compassion), together with the extensively studied factors associated to negative BI (e.g., disembodiment, body shame), may improve not only the theoretical understanding of BI, but also lead to a development of specific therapeutic strategies to improve the intervention of BID and ensure long-lasting outcomes.

The classic view of BI: negative BI and its dimensions

The BI construct seems to be composed of two dimensions: negative BI and positive BI. To date, research has focused primarily on the study of the negative dimension ( Smolak & Cash, 2011 ; Tylka, 2011 ), characterized by BID. As noted above, BID is a key element in the expression of ED and one of the more common characteristics in anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa ( Cash & Deagle, 1997 ; Cornelissen et al., 2013 , 2015 ), as well as a key component in its development, maintenance, and relapse ( Stice & Shaw, 2002 ; Treasure et al., 2020 ). Moreover, BID can also be found in the non-clinical population ( McCabe et al., 2006 ; Stice & Whitenton, 2002 ), making its study and understanding even more relevant.

Regarding negative BI, the research has focused on the extensive examination of two independent subdimensions that can be disturbed ( Garner & Garfinkel, 1982 ): (a) the perceptual dimension (which refers to the estimation of one’s body size and weight); and (b) the affective-attitudinal-cognitive dimension (which involves feelings, attitudes, and thoughts about one’s body size and weight) ( Bulik et al., 2006 ). Perceptual disturbance is manifested as an underestimation or overestimation of body size or weight, whereas disturbance in the affective dimension is characterized mainly by body dissatisfaction and/or overvaluation of body size and weight ( Cornelissen et al., 2013 ; Dakanalis et al., 2016 ). Therefore, disturbance can be found in one or both BI dimensions.

Most studies have prioritized the exploration of perceptual dimension disturbance. Currently, there is enough evidence to state there is a trend in patients with anorexia nervosa to be impaired in this dimension, characterized by greater overestimation of their perceived body size in comparison to control groups with no history of ED ( Brown et al., 2021 ; Hagman et al., 2015 ; Gardner & Brown, 2014 ; Mölbert et al., 2017 ). This overestimation is likely to persist over time despite demanding diets and significant weight loss, which usually occurs in these patients ( Riva et al., 2015 ). In the past few decades, the underlying mechanisms of this disturbance have been investigated in order to develop effective interventions to readjust body size estimation ( Cornelissen et al., 2013 ).

Regarding the affective dimension of BI, several authors have emphasized its relevance, as well as its relationship with the perceptual dimension ( Mölbert et al., 2018 ; Preston & Ehrsson, 2014 , 2016 ). Overall, the evidence suggests that people with ED experience higher body dissatisfaction, greater concerns about body weight and/or size, an increased drive for thinness, and a lower desired weight, compared to people with no history of ED ( Cash & Deagle, 1997 ; Moscone et al., 2017 ). In addition, studies have found that high levels of body dissatisfaction are associated with greater inaccuracy in one’s body size perception ( Keizer et al., 2011 ), and that an increased drive for thinness is associated with greater overestimation of one’s body size ( Hagman et al., 2015 ). Similarly, Gardner and Bokenkamp ( 1996 ) concluded that body dissatisfaction could be a causal factor in overestimating body size. Thus, there is a large body of research on the psychopathological symptoms associated with BI (e.g., Smolak, 2012 ; Thompson et al., 1999 ). In short, latest studies ( Hagman et al., 2015 ; Mölbert et al., 2018 ) point out the importance of studying in depth the affective dimension of BI (e.g., body shame) to understand perceptual BID (e.g., body overestimation).

Additionally, although most of these studies have focused on the negative BI, new explanatory models of ED have recently been developed. The need to study the “positive” side of BI has emerged, leading to a better understanding of both the risk factors and the possible protective factors in the development of ED ( Tylka, 2012 ).

Positive BI: A necessary dimension for the comprehensive understanding of BI

Positive BI was initially defined as an opposite concept to negative BI ( Smolak, 2012 ; Tylka, 2011 , 2012 ), so that a reduction in BID was associated with an increase in positive BI characteristics ( Tylka & Wood-Barcalow, 2015 ). Based on this approach, BI was originally considered a continuum with negative and positive BI situated at opposite ends ( Webb et al., 2015 ). However, a growing body of evidence indicates that negative and positive BI are not opposite ends of the same continuum, but rather two different constructs that are negatively correlated ( Avalos et al., 2005 ; Tylka, 2011 , 2018 ; Tylka & Wood-Barcalow, 2015 ). Thus, interventions in negative BI would not necessarily promote positive BI (e.g., an individual with high levels of body appreciation can still experience body dissatisfaction) ( Tiggemann & McCourt, 2013 ; Tylka & Wood-Barcalow, 2015 ).

Positive BI is characterized by the acceptance, appreciation, and respect for one’s body ( Tylka, 2013 ). More specifically, according to Avalos et al. ( 2005 ), positive BI has four components: (1) favorable opinions about the body; (2) acceptance of the body with its imperfections, regardless of weight or body shape; (3) respect for the body by attending to its needs and engaging in healthy behaviors; and (4) protecting the body by rejecting unrealistic BIs portrayed in the media (e.g., positive media information is internalized, whereas negative media information is denied or reformulated).

Several studies state that positive BI is associated with healthy behaviors ( Andrew et al., 2013 ; Gillen, 2015 ). According to Avalos et al. ( 2005 ), developing positive feelings towards the body can result in increased psychological well-being. Hence, positive BI is associated with lower development of ED symptoms ( Wood-Barcalow et al., 2010 ) through its (1) direct influence on psychological well-being ( Avalos et al., 2015 ); (2) indirect influence on reducing the impact of contextual influences (e.g., appearance-centered media) ( Swami et al., 2008 ); and (3) promotion of protective cognitive styles (e.g., rejecting messages of criticism regarding one’s weight or interpreting ambiguous appearance-related messages as positive ones) and, as a result, higher resistance to the effects of appearance-centered media ( Halliwell & Diedrichs, 2012 ).

In the past few years, mainly from the field of Positive Psychology, acceptance and appreciation of the body have been promoted as therapeutic targets for building a more positive BI. Programs designed to encourage body acceptance (e.g., not worrying about or exhibiting vanity about one’s appearance, rejecting socio-cultural ideals of beauty) can be more effective than programs that do not focus on this component ( Stice et al., 2007 ). In addition, body appreciation ‒which implies an attitude of kindness, respect, and gratitude toward one’s bodily characteristics, functions, and physical condition‒ has been identified as a key protective factor of positive BI in young women ( Wood-Barcalow et al., 2010 ). It promotes body acceptance by rejecting unrealistic ideals of beauty and enhancing individual psychological well-being by engaging in healthy behaviors ( Avalos et al., 2005 ). In addition, body appreciation has been negatively related to risk factors associated with ED, such as body shame, body surveillance, and drive for thinness ( Avalos et al., 2005 ).

In conclusion, positive BI stands out as a key dimension in BI that should be considered in the prevention and intervention of ED. Increasing positive BI by promoting body appreciation and recognition of one’s body needs goes beyond decreasing negative BI ( Tylka, 2015 ). Promoting positive BI may have effective long-lasting effects and counteract the experience of disconnection from one’s body (i.e., disembodiment) ( Tylka & Wood-Barcalow, 2015 ). Therefore, focusing on positive BI may help prevent BID intervention in individuals with ED ( Piran, 2015 ; Tylka & Piran, 2019 ) by developing acceptance and respect towards their body ( Avalos et al., 2005 ). However, more studies are needed to identify factors that enhance positive BI.

Embodiment: considering the way we inhabit our body as a protective factor of positive BI

As noted above, BI is not an easily defined concept. Cash ( 2004 ) defined BI as a multifaceted psychological experience of embodying a body that involves self-perceptions, attitudes, thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and behaviors. Despite this complexity, the concept of embodiment has hardly been included in explanatory theories of BI. Nevertheless, as the latest research suggests that difficulty in embodying one’s body could contribute to the explanation of BID in ED.

According to her developmental theory of Embodiment ( Piran, 2016 ), which integrates Buddhist psychology and mindfulness, the experience of positive embodiment includes five processes: (1) positive connection with the body, manifested by feeling comfortable and “at home” when embodying one’s body and interacting with the world from it; (2) experience of agency and functionality of one’s body (e.g., physical ability or body functions); (3) perception and awareness of bodily needs (e.g., hunger or sexual desire); (4) self-care in response to perceived internal needs (e.g., resting when tired or eating when hungry); and (5) embodying or “inhabiting” one’s body in the first person (as opposed to an objective or third-person perspective).

Although the concept of embodiment and positive BI dimensions may overlap ( Menzel & Levine, 2011 ; Tylka, 2019 ) due to their focus on a positive connection with the body ( Tylka & Piran, 2019 ), both constructs are different ( Cook-Cottone, 2016 ). Developing a positive BI comes hand-in-hand with having a healthy, embodied awareness of internal and external aspects of self ( Cook-Cottone, 2015 ). Positive embodiment promotes the growth of positive BI, as it involves a constructive connection with one’s body, which leads to caring for it with acceptance and non-judgment ( Cook-Cottone, 2015 ; Piran, 2015 ), simultaneously encompassing all processes of the developmental theory of embodiment ( Piran, 2016 ). In this regard, positive embodiment has been associated with mindfulness practice and, more specifically, the practice of self-compassion ( Cook-Cottone, 2006 , 2015 ; Tylka, 2012 ). Mindfulness practice has shown positive outcomes for variables that are negatively correlated with positive embodiment, such as body shame ( Goldsmith et al., 2014 ; Woods & Proeve, 2014 ) and self-objectification ( Cox et al., 2016 ).

In contrast, disembodiment implies the interruption of the connection with the body (the way it feels as well as its functions) ( Tylka & Wood-Barcalow, 2015 ), which leads the person to perceive the body from an observer’s perspective (i.e., experience the body from a third-person perspective) ( Menzel & Levine, 2011 ). Disembodiment has been positively associated with a lack of interoceptive awareness and a sense of disconnection from one’s body ( Piran, 2015 , 2016 ). According to Piran ( 2016 ), the lack of connection with the body could constitute an avoidance strategy that emerges in situations of discomfort where others can observe the body. Therefore, disembodiment, or the experience of adopting an observer’s perspective of one’s body by being an “object for others”, has been suggested as an altered mechanism in ED, a risk factor for negative BI. In this regard, disembodiment seems to be closely related to the concept of self-objectification. Self-objectification refers to the perception of oneself in the third person: the person perceives him/herself as an object that others evaluate based on physical appearance rather than on the body’s functionality or psychological qualities ( Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997 ). Bodily self-objectification has been associated with increased body shame and decreased interoceptive awareness ( Ainley et al., 2013 ), and it has been identified as an obstacle to body appreciation ( Augustus-Horvath & Tylka, 2011 ). On the contrary, positive embodiment has been associated with less objectified body consciousness ( Avalos et al., 2005 ; Menzel et al., 2011 ).

Lastly, another recent research area in the field of disembodiment focuses on studying mechanisms that underlie the experience of disconnection from the body in the ED patients. In recent years, research on the induction of perceptual illusions of ownership ‒mainly of a rubber hand ( Botvinick & Cohen, 1998 ) or a full-body using visuo-tactile stimulation ( Keizer et al., 2016 )‒ has been carried out to induce the sense of embodiment with a false limb or a virtual avatar. This research area promotes the study of the basic components of embodiment (i.e., ownership, agency, and location of the body) in the disturbance of body representation. Findings indicate that patients with ED who show interoceptive deficits and self-objectification ( Eshkevari et al., 2012 ; Herbert, 2020 ; Schaefer & Thompson, 2018 ), are more likely to detach (or experience disembodiment) from their body and embody another body or part of the body (e.g., a rubber hand) ( Eshkevari et al., 2012 , 2014 ; Keizer et al., 2014 ). That is, the fact of experiencing greater capability of embodying any other body, different from its own body, constitutes a sign of disembodiment in individuals with ED. This malleability of the bodily self persists even after ED recovery ( Eshkevari et al., 2014 ). Therefore, a deeper understanding of the basic components of embodiment could promote long-lasting changes in the key mechanisms of BID by adjusting distorted body representations. For instance, the induction of bodily illusions by embodying a body that is thinner than one’s own results in lower body overestimation in women with AN ( Keizer et al., 2016 ; Serino et al., 2019 ), as well as higher body satisfaction ( Preston & Ehrsson, 2014 ; van der Hoort et al., 2011 ). Thus, induction of perceptual illusions that aim to manipulate the individual’s perception of the body -by making it thinner or fatter- is a promising alternative in the assessment and intervention of BID.

In conclusion, embodiment ‒or the way we inhabit or embody our body and the connection we establish with it‒ could be associated with our level of positive or negative BI. Therefore, assessing the experience of positive embodiment (or disembodiment) could contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of BI.

Body shame: A risk factor associated with disembodiment and negative BI

Body shame is an emotion that is increasingly being addressed in recent studies of BID in ED ( Cesare et al., 2016 , Duarte et al., 2016 , Mustapic et al., 2015 , 2016 ). According to Gilbert ( Gilbert, 2003 ; Gilbert & Miles, 2002), shame is a painful and self-conscious emotion that arises during the process of social competition as a warning sign that certain personal characteristics, attributes, or behaviors may be perceived as undesirable and, consequently, be judged negatively by others. The concept of shame has been divided into two dimensions: external shame and internal shame ( Duarte et al., 2015 ; Gilbert, 2003 ). On the one hand, external shame arises when the individual perceives that s/he could be judged negatively by others ( Gilbert & Miles, 2014 ; Tangney & Dearing, 2002 ). On the other hand, internal shame arises when the individual internalizes the negative judgment of others and, therefore, becomes her/his own judge ( Gilbert, 2003 ).

More specifically, body shame has been studied within the affective dimension of negative BI ( Menzel et al., 2011 ). It refers to a painful emotion that consists of cognitive, behavioral, affective, and social components related to appearance and body-related functions ( Gilbert, 2003 ). The experience of body shame has mainly been associated with two theories that have attempted to explain the development and maintenance of ED symptoms.

On the one hand, the social comparison theory ( Festinger, 1954 ) states that individuals, mainly women, tend to compare themselves with people from their social context. An unfavorable evaluation, experienced as inferiority, results in increased negative affect and reduced self-esteem. In this regard, evidence shows that social comparison has a negative impact on the level of body satisfaction ( Myers & Crowther, 2009 ) because self-surveillance ‒or the act of observing oneself‒ is directly associated with appearance anxiety ( Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997 ). Similarly, the anxiety experienced in exposure tasks using images of thin bodies has been shown to increase body dissatisfaction through the process of social comparison ( Friederich et al., 2007 ). Therefore, this theory suggests that increased body dissatisfaction may be related to a higher tendency to observe anxiety-inducing body parts ( Jansen et al., 2005 ).

On the other hand, the self-objectification theory posits that body shame arises from comparing one’s body to an internalized socio-cultural ideal ( Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997 ). In other words, according to this theory, self-objectification has its origins in the internalization of the ideal of socio-cultural beauty, which entails the constant tendency to self-monitor the body and observe it from a third-person perspective. This process of self-monitoring and self-objectification leads to increased body shame, greater appearance anxiety, poor interoceptive awareness, increased negative affect ( Miner-Rubino et al., 2002 ), and increased depressive symptoms ( Muehlenkamp & Saris-Baglama, 2002 ; Szymanski & Henning, 2007 ). A negative self-evaluation in this context leads individuals to perceive themselves as inferior, unattractive, or unwanted ( Duarte et al., 2015 ; Gilbert & Miles, 2014 ).

Both theories coincide in that a negative evaluation of one’s physical appearance resulting from social comparison leads to increased body shame ( Cook-Cottone et al., 2008 ). Body shame is one of the most frequent consequences of the internalization of the Western body ideal ( Lamont, 2019 ). In addition, body shame is one of the most common emotional states associated with negative BI in ED ( Goss & Gilbert, 2014 ; Hayaki et al., 2002 ; Pinto-Gouveia et al., 2014 ), and it can be found in both clinical and non-clinical populations ( Dakanalis et al., 2014 ; Doran & Lewis, 2011 ).

Furthermore, body shame is an emotion associated with the experience of disembodiment or disconnection from one’s body ( Piran, 2016 ; Piran & Neumark-Sztainer, 2020 ). Therefore, it is important to identify strategies to reduce the experience of body shame. In this regard, self-compassion is emerging as a variable that protects against body shame and improves women’s BI ( Halliwell, 2015 ). Some findings show that individuals with higher self-compassion levels have lower levels of body shame ( Breines et al., 2014 ; Ferreira et al., 2019 ; Liss & Erchull, 2015 ). Hence, practice of self-compassion could constitute an intervention strategy to enhance positive embodiment ‒or a better way to inhabit or interact with one’s body‒.

Self-compassion: A protective factor that promotes positive embodiment and positive BI?

Self-compassion, a concept derived from Buddhist psychology, involves an openness to perceiving one’s suffering as part of the human experience, without avoiding it or distancing oneself from it, and the desire to alleviate it with kindness and without judgment ( Neff, 2003 ). The self-compassion construct consists of three main components ( Neff, 2003 ): (1) mindfulness (vs over-identification), defined as the ability to observe thoughts and feelings, including body-related ones, without judgment or over-identification with them; (2) common humanity (vs isolation), defined as the ability to understand and identify one’s life experience as human and feel connected to others by identifying the experience as common (e.g., worrying about weight or not fulfilling the ideal of beauty); (3) self-kindness (vs self-criticism), defined as the ability to understand and be kind to oneself, take care of oneself, and accept one’s mistakes (e.g., being understanding when gaining weight).

Some evidence shows that self-compassion is a predictor of positive affect and happiness ( Neff et al., 2007 ; Neff & Vonk, 2009 ). In a recent meta-analysis, self-compassion was identified as an adaptive emotional regulation strategy ( Turk & Waller, 2020 ) associated with alleviating shame and self-criticism ( Gilbert, 2010 ; Leary et al., 2007 ; Neff, 2003 ; Neff & Vonk, 2009 ). More specifically, the self-kindness component would prevent negative self-evaluations involving shame, whereas the mindfulness component would prevent generalizing errors to the whole self through the ability to maintain thoughts and feelings without over-identifying with them (e.g., the person can regard a mistake made as something transitory, without over-identifying with it) ( Neff, 2003 ). Furthermore, the self-kindness component has been associated with understanding oneself during situations of stress and danger ( Neff, 2003 ). Therefore, in stressful situations related to BI (e.g., viewing advertisements that include bodies that meet the ideal of beauty), an individual with higher levels of self-compassion will be better able to counteract the discomfort caused by these situations (e.g., less self-criticism related to body size and weight) ( Webb et al., 2014 ). In the case of negative BI, the evidence suggests that self-compassion is associated with a decrease in concern about body size and weight, body shame, self-objectification, and the influence of internalizing the ideal of beauty ( Braun et al., 2016 ; Ferreira et al., 2013 ; Wasylkiw et al., 2012 ).

In addition to its role in decreasing negative BI, self-compassion is considered a protective variable associated with the development and maintenance of positive BI ( Braun et al., 2016 ; Neff, 2003 ; Siegel et al., 2020 ; Wasylkiw et al., 2012 ). The evidence suggests that there is a link between increased BI flexibility ‒defined as a compassionate response in accepting aversive body-related thoughts and feelings ( Sandoz et al., 2013 ), increased acceptance of negative BI-related experiences ( Daye et al., 2014 ; Kelly et al., 2014 ; Mosewich et al., 2011 ; Wasylkiw et al., 2012 ), and greater body appreciation ( Ferreira et al., 2013 ). Therefore, high levels of self-compassion seem to contribute to lower negative BI and higher positive BI.

In this regard, Altman et al. ( 2017 ) developed the Body Compassion Scale to assess self-compassion related to one’s body. It combines the constructs of self-compassion (from Buddhist psychology) and BI (explained from the cognitive-behavioral approach). The scale has three dimensions: (1) defusion (e.g., “When I am frustrated with my body’s lack of ability to do something, I tend to feel alienated and isolated from others”); (2) common humanity (e.g., “When I am frustrated with some aspect of my appearance, I try to remind myself that most people feel this way all the time”); and (3) acceptance (e.g., “I accept my appearance as it is”). The scale is designed to assess individuals’ relationship with their body (e.g., presence of BID or positive BI) using an acceptance and mindfulness-based approach. Nonetheless, it is unclear whether body compassion (versus self-compassion) is a protective variable that explains more variance in the reduction of negative BI and the increase in positive BI, and whether body compassion (versus self-compassion) should have a more significant role in the assessment and treatment of BID.

Self-compassion focused interventions could contribute to increasing the connection with the body and decreasing self-objectification ( Piran, 2015 ). These interventions try to modify individuals’ relationships with their appearance by fostering acceptance and appreciation of body size and weight, with the ultimate goal of promoting positive embodiment (vs disembodiment). They are aimed at promoting both body appreciation and self-care, buffering the tendency to compare oneself with others or with certain ideals ( Avalos et al., 2005 ). The studies by Albertson et al. ( 2015 ) and Toole and Craighead ( 2016 ) analyzed the effectiveness of online interventions based on self-compassion in samples of undergraduate female students with high negative BI concerns. The results showed that the intervention programs were effective in increasing body appreciation and decreasing body shame and body dissatisfaction, among other effects. Similarly, self-compassionate letter writing is an effective intervention to promote treatment-seeking motivation in patients with anorexia nervosa ( Kelly & Waring, 2018 ) and improve body satisfaction in undergraduate women ( Stern & Engeln, 2018 ). Consequently, we can determine that the practice of self-compassion seems to be a promising area of intervention, not only for decreasing negative BI, but also for enhancing positive BI.

Conclusions and future research directions in the study of BI

We carried out a narrative review of several protective and risk factors related to positive and negative BI (i.e., positive embodiment/disembodiment, body shame, and self-compassion) in order to understand this construct from a comprehensive perspective. We think this perspective should be taken into consideration in the assessment and intervention of BID in ED. Nonetheless, there are still many questions on this path that need to be clarified.

First, evidence points out the need to consider the positive (and not only the negative) dimension of BI for a comprehensive understanding of BID in patients with ED. To this end, additional and independent research on each of the specific components of positive BI (e.g., appreciation of body appearance or body functionality) is required in order to: (1) develop specific instruments (for both trait and state positive BI); and (2) integrate the BI positive components (e.g., body appreciation) into theoretical models that can explain the associations between these variables and the negative BI variables (e.g., body dissatisfaction).

Second, this review also highlights a long-neglected issue in the assessment and treatment of BI: the experience of embodiment. Although this aspect is included in some of the well-known definitions of BI, such as Cash’s ( 2004 ), it has not been thoroughly studied. This research field may provide novel experimental paradigms to explore the underlying mechanisms of positive embodiment (e.g., self-compassion) in patients with ED. More specifically, deeper understanding of how embodiment is developed may help improve prevention and intervention programs for BID by enhancing the psychological processes responsible for positive connections to one’s own body.

In addition, following the positive embodiment model incorporated in the developmental theory of Embodiment ( Piran, 2015 ), discussed in this paper, there is a need (1) to conduct more studies related to activities that promote positive embodiment (e.g., yoga or exercise) and have benefits for body awareness or the experience of self-objectification, among others; (2) to develop instruments to delimit the different dimensions of positive embodiment; (3) to explore how risk factors (e.g., disembodiment) interact with protective factors of BI (e.g., positive embodiment) ( Piran, 2016 ); and, finally, (4) to define underlying mechanisms of the association between the concepts of positive embodiment and self-compassion, as well as disembodiment and body shame.

Third, in recent years, the need to integrate body shame assessment as part of the impairment in the BID affective dimension has been highlighted. This variable appears to be associated with disembodiment, and through this interaction, body shame could lead to negative BI. Additionally, along with body shame, this review indicates the relevance of self-compassion because it can play a relevant role in fostering positive BI by cultivating positive embodiment. Therefore, it is necessary (1) to identify the mechanisms of action of self-compassionate practice and its effect on the decrease in body shame, as well as the promotion of positive BI, (2) to establish the role of the constructs of body self-compassion versus self-compassion in promoting positive embodiment and healthy BI, and finally, (3) to design effective interventions that integrate self-compassion to reduce body shame, increase positive embodiment, and consequently, increase positive BI and reduce negative BI.

Inclusion of these protective and risk factors in theoretical BI models has the potential to provide a comprehensive perspective of this complex concept and may allow using strategies and instruments to improve BI assessment, prevention, and treatment in patients with ED. Hence, more studies are required to establish the protective role of positive embodiment and self-compassion in the development, maintenance, and relapse of ED. Moreover, a shift in future study designs is needed to better understand the variables described in this review: greater diversity in the samples and the implementation of longitudinal studies. It is necessary to strive for greater heterogeneity among the participants because most of the published studies have been conducted on young, white, heterosexually oriented adult women with significant concerns about BI and no physical disabilities ( Atkinson & Wade, 2016 ; Toole & Craighead, 2016 ). To develop effective BID-related interventions in ED, full understanding of the BI construct is required considering positive BI (e.g., body functionality, body flexibility) and negative BI (e.g., body disgust, “feeling fat”) dimensions. In this regard, it is essential to explore different populations to capture all risk and protective factors involved in BID. Therefore, future studies should include a representative sample of diverse cultural groups, different age groups (especially children and the elderly), and the male population.

In addition to increasing sample diversity, a thorough examination of life transition periods (e.g., adolescence, pregnancy, or menopause) is required due to their impact on BI development and modification ( Piran, 2015 ). Studying the impact of time on the different components of BI and the embodiment experience could lead to the development of specific interventions that may address specific protective and risk factors during each period. For example, the prevalence of negative BI in adolescents indicates the relevance of prevention programs for this age group by identifying specific variables that would facilitate the promotion of healthy BI, such as body acceptance. Likewise, there is a need to conduct longitudinal studies in order to examine the causal relationships between the aforementioned variables. The results of these studies could be incorporated into the theoretical models of the psychological processes involved in the development and maintenance of positive BI and prevention of BID in ED. Moreover, dismantling studies (e.g., Roehrig et al., 2006 ) would help to determine the role of the components of the BI dimensions and their relationships, in addition to designing interventions with specific components for healthy BI development.

In conclusion, this review emphasizes the importance of considering new protective and risk factors -and the links they maintain with each other- of BI conceptualization, to continue to advance in its understanding. Inclusion of the positive dimension of BI, and considering positive embodiment and self-compassion as protective factors -opposed to the disconnection from our body and body shame- will allow us to reach a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the BI construct. This perspective may lead to a more suitable approach for researching and developing future prevention and intervention programs focusing not only on reducing negative BI (through decreasing body shame and disembodiment), but also on positive BI connection with one’s own body (through increasing self-compassion and positive embodiment).

Funding Statement

This work was supported by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of Spain under AN-BODYMENT (PSI2017-85063-R) and the grant “Programme for the Training of Researchers” (Formación de Personal Investigador, FPI), with the reference number PRE2018-084882, as well as, CIBEROBN, an initiative of ISCIII (CB06/0052).

Funding Information

Competing interests.

The authors have no competing interests to declare.

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Body Image - Free Essay Examples And Topic Ideas

Body image refers to a person’s subjective perception of their own physical appearance. This includes how they view their size, shape, and overall appearance, as well as how they believe others perceive them. Body image can have a profound impact on a person’s mental and emotional well-being, leading to issues such as low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. It is often influenced by social and cultural factors, such as media representations of beauty standards and societal pressure to conform to certain physical ideals. It is important to promote positive body image and self-acceptance in order to promote overall health and happiness.

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Gender and Body Image Essay

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Body image is a critical issue in the contemporary world, which has become particularly prominent due to the popularization of visual mass media. Online blogs, television, and films all provide examples of perfect female and male bodies. When real people compare themselves to these ideals, they experience dissatisfaction with their body that results in body image issues. Although women are perceived to be the primary victims of body image issues, men often suffer from them to the same degree.

The ideals that trigger these issues are different for men and women. A perfect female body today is considered to be fit, with low body fat and a thin waist. To achieve this ideal, many women use unhealthy diets or fasting, as well as exhausting exercises. For men, the perfect body is just as difficult to achieve. Woods (2017) notes that the ideal male body image is inherently connected to society’s ideas of masculinity. Thus, men are expected to be muscular and have sharp facial features. Attempts to gain muscle lead some men to engage in exhausting training that damages their health, as well as use anabolic drugs to improve how their body looks.

Body image issues are dangerous not only for physical well-being but for mental health, too. A study by Jones (2001) showed that body dissatisfaction leads to eating disorders, depression, and poor self-esteem, thus impacting other areas of a person’s life. Although my self-esteem is normal, comparing my body and face to those considered ideal by society causes unpleasant thoughts and makes me want to change the way I look. Contemporary movements, such as body positivity, aim to improve the diversity of images in mass media. This will likely result in the rejection of modern body ideals, preventing body dissatisfaction and improving people’s well-being.

Jones, D. C. (2001). Social comparison and body image: Attractiveness comparisons to models and peers among adolescent girls and boys. Sex Roles, 45 (9-10), 645-664.

Woods, J. T. (2017). Gendered lives: Communication, gender, and culture (13th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publication.

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Analysis of social media effects on body image.

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Best topics on Body Image

1. Analysis of Social Media Effects on Body Image

2. How Unrealistic Beauty Standards on Social Media Affect Girls

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4. Body Image Pressure Among Young Adults and Adolescence

5. Themes of Body Image and Personality in Beauty and The Beast

6. The Influence of Media on Body Image and Body Modification

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8. How Clothes Can Affect Our Mood

9. Barbie Doll: The Criticism of Women No Matter the Action

10. The Perception of Body Image by the Media-Influenced Generation

11. The Pessimistic Effects of Body Image on Teenagers

12. The Impact of Modern Media on One’s Body Image

13. Body Image as a Manufactured Concept of Media

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15. Fashion Isn’t a Size: Body Image in Modern Society

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Header menu - drawer | united kingdom, body image report: introduction, what is body image.

‘Body image’ is a term that can be used to describe how we think and feel about our bodies.  

Because these thoughts and feelings can be complex, approaches to defining and understanding body image are varied and can include: how we view our bodies and how accurate this perception is; how satisfied we are with our bodies and appearance; how we experience our bodies in our environment; how much we value what other people think about our bodies and appearance; and how much other people’s opinions about our appearance affect our feelings about ourselves (1–4) . 

Often, when we talk about ‘poor body image, we are referring to a feeling of being unsatisfied with our body – either because of appearance or the way it functions. This is described as ‘body dissatisfaction. In contrast, positive body image can be described as being satisfied with our body, holding respect, appreciation and accepting of its abilities, and having a healthy balance between valuing our body and valuing the other aspects of ourselves that make us ‘us’ (2,3,5) .

How comfortable are we with our bodies?

Feeling unhappy with our appearance is a relatively common experience. The Mental Health Foundation conducted a survey with YouGov in March 2019 of 4,505 UK adults.

Our survey found that while 21% of adults felt ‘satisfied’ because of their body image, in the past year, one in five people (20%) have felt ‘shame’ and just over one-third (34%) have felt ‘down or low’ in the past year because of their body image. Our survey suggests higher numbers than the 2013 British Social Attitudes Survey, where one in twenty men and one in ten women were dissatisfied with their appearance (6) . 

In the past year, one in five people has felt ‘shame’ and just over one-third have felt ‘down or low’ in the past year because of their body image.

Body image and appreciation is relevant across our lives, from youth through to later life. The proportion of women in the British Social Attitudes Survey saying they were satisfied with their appearance was similar among those aged 18–34 and those over 65 (6) . This was similar to our survey, where 30% of adults aged 18–24 reported feeling ‘satisfied’ because of their body image in the last year, compared to 24% of adults aged 55+.  

While women and girls are often more likely to report being unsatisfied with their bodies, men and boys are also affected by body image concerns. A survey in 2016 found that 10% of secondary school boys have said they skipped a meal to change their appearance, and 10% would consider taking steroids to achieve their goals (7) .  

As a society, we tend to place great importance on our appearance. Nearly half of adults (47%) in the British Social Attitudes Survey felt that ‘how you look affects what you can achieve in life’, and nearly one-third (32%) felt that ‘your value as a person depends on how you look’ (6). Therefore, how we think and feel about our bodies is something that can affect us throughout our lives and has far-reaching implications for our feelings about ourselves and our mental health and wellbeing.  

How does body image link to mental health?

Body image concerns are not a mental health problem in and of itself; however, they can be a risk factor for mental health problems. Research has found that higher body dissatisfaction is associated with a poorer quality of life and psychological distress (8) , a higher likelihood of depression symptoms (9,10) and the risk of unhealthy eating behaviours and eating disorders (10,11) . Conversely, body satisfaction and appreciation have been linked to better overall wellbeing (12) and fewer unhealthy dieting behaviours (5,13) . 

This is reflected in our survey, where just over one-third of adults said they felt anxious (34%) or depressed (35%) because of their body image, and just over one in eight (13%) experienced suicidal thoughts or feelings because of concerns about their body image. In a second new survey conducted by the Mental Health Foundation with YouGov in March 2019 of 1,118 GB teenagers aged 13–19, 40% felt worried, 37% felt upset, and 31% felt ashamed about their body image. 

One in eight adults experienced suicidal thoughts or feelings because of concerns about their body image.

Body image is closely linked to mental health problems such as body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia. BDD is a mental health problem where a person spends a lot of time worrying about flaws in their appearance that are often unnoticeable to others, to the point that it affects their daily life (14) . Poor body image is a risk factor for any part of the diagnostic criteria of these conditions (11) . There is extensive research on body image's role in eating disorders and body dysmorphia and how these conditions can best be treated and prevented. In the current report, we focus on general body image concerns rather than specifically concerning eating disorders or BDD. A review of the literature on eating disorders or BDD treatment is beyond this report's scope. Still, resources for further reading in this area can be found on the NHS information pages for  body dysmorphic disorder  and  eating disorders , as well as from voluntary organisations such as  Beat ,  Anorexia & Bulimia Care  and  YoungMinds . More information on the recommended guidelines for treating  eating disorders  and  body dysmorphic disorder  can be found in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.   

It is important to note that body image research often looks at the characteristics of a group of people at a single point in time. This can make it hard to determine which factors cause poor body image or common mental health problems. For example, feeling dissatisfied with your body may cause you to feel depressed, or it may be that you are more likely to feel dissatisfied with your body if you are already experiencing depression. The research that does look at these changes over time suggests it may be a combination of the two and that sometimes body dissatisfaction may predict or otherwise affect the development of depression or anxiety symptoms (15,16). In other contexts, symptoms may predict body dissatisfaction (15,17) . 

What affects body image?

How our experiences and environment affect our body image will differ for everyone. Overall, however, the research suggests that body image may be influenced by our relationships with our family and friends (18) ; how our family and peers feel and speak about bodies and appearance (19); exposure to images of ‘idealised’ or unrealistic bodies through the media or social media (1,20,21) ; and pressure to look a certain way or to match an ‘ideal’ body type (21) . 

Valuing and holding oneself against an unrealistic, ‘ideal’ body type is often referred to in the research as ‘internalisation of the ideal’. It is commonly linked to developing poor body image through feelings of shame or distress when this ideal is not met (21) . What this ideal looks like will shift across cultures and can vary between genders. In Western cultures, it is common for the ‘ideal’ for women to be thin body shapes but with maintained curves (referred to as the ‘thin ideal’), while for men, the ‘ideals’ are being taller and having a muscular body shape.  

From a therapeutic perspective, the ‘internalisation of the ideal’ can be understood as part of a process of internalising a shamed body image. Shame is an emotion that we are all born with the capacity to feel, which, in its healthy form, can be adaptive, as it prompts us to attend to ruptures in our relationships with others by making amends and repairing interpersonal relationships connections. In contrast, unhealthy shame is the feeling of being apart or isolated from others due to feeling inadequate, defective or not good enough (22) . Body shame can become internalised and unhealthy when we experience consistent shaming messages about our bodies either directly (through criticism, teasing or bullying) or more indirectly (by being excluded or avoided, or consistently exposed to non-thoughtful language or unrealistic images of ‘ideal bodies’). Once internalised, this sense of shame operates regardless of how our bodies actually look or function. 

All of this suggests that body image is a complex and often very personal experience. Its relationship to mental health is important, influenced by many aspects of our environment that shift and change across our lives.  

Body image is a complex and often very personal experience.

Read more on the Body Image report and related articles

Body image in adulthood.

As in childhood and adolescence, increased body dissatisfaction in adulthood has been linked to an increased likelihood of depressive symptoms, psychological distress and disordered eating and eating disorders. Positive body image in adulthood has been linked to better overall wellbeing and quality of life.

Body image and long-term health conditions

Body image is an essential issue for many people affected by long-term health conditions related to mental or physical health. The body image of individuals with long-term conditions or disabilities are informed by factors discussed in previous sections, as well as the often significant changes to appearance and functioning that can accompany illness and disability and affect how we think about and experience our bodies.

Body image, sexual orientation and gender identity

While people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) experience body image concerns in ways that are generally similar to those who identify as heterosexual, their experience and relationship with their bodies are likely to differ in specific ways.

How can we protect, promote, and maintain body image?

Everyone has a right to feel comfortable and confident in their skin, and we can take small actions in our daily lives to help foster a more accepting environment.

1. Burrowes N. Body image - a rapid evidence assessment of the literature. [Internet]. London; 2013. Available from:  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/body-confidence-a-rapid-evidence-assessment-of-the-literature  

2. Government Equalities Office. Body confidence campaign progress report 2015. [Internet]. London; 2015. Available from:  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/body-confidence-progress-report-2015  

3. National Citizen Service. Taking action on body image An active citizenship toolkit for those working with young people. [Internet]. 2014. Available from:  https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/370677/Body_image_final_17.10.14.pdf  

4. British Youth Council. A body confident future. [Internet]. 2017. Available from:  http://www.byc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Youth-Select-Committee-A-Body-Confident-Future.pdf  

5. Andrew R, Tiggemann M, Clark L. Predictors and Health-Related outcomes of positive body image in adolescent girls: A prospective study. Dev Psychol. 2016 Mar;52(3):463–74.  

6. Government Equalities Office. Body confidence: Findings from the British Social Attitudes Survey October 2014. [Internet]. London; 2014. Available from:  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/body-confidence-a-rapid-evidence-assessment-of-the-literature  

7. Credos. Picture of Health? [Internet]. 2016. Available from:  http://www.adassoc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Picture-of-health_FINAL.pdf  

8. Griffiths S, Hay P, Mitchinson D, Mond J, McLean S, Rodgers B, et al. Sex differences in the relationships between body dissatisfaction, quality of life and psychological distress. Aust N Z J Public Health. 2016 Dec;40(6):518–22.  

9. Jackson KL, Janssen I, Appelhans BM, Kazlauskaite R, Karavolos K, Dugan SA, et al. Body image satisfaction and depression in midlife women: The Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN). Arch Womens Ment Health. 2014 Jun 13;17(3):177–87.  

10. Goldschmidt AB, Wall M, Choo THJ, Becker C, Neumark-Sztainer D. Shared risk factors for mood-, eating-, and weight-related health outcomes. Heal Psychol. 2016 Mar;35(3):245–52.  

11. Smolak L, Levine MP. Body Image, Disordered Eating and Eating Disorders: Connections and Disconnects. In: Smolak L, Levine MP, editors. The Wiley Handbook of Eating Disorders, Assessment, Prevention, Treatment, Policy and Future Directions. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd; 2015. p. 1–5.  

12. Swami V, Weis L, Barron D, Furnham A. Positive body image is positively associated with hedonic (emotional) and eudaimonic (psychological and social) well-being in British adults. J Soc Psychol. 2018 Sep 3;158(5):541–52.  

13. Gillen MM. Associations between positive body image and indicators of men’s and women’s mental and physical health. Body Image. 2015 Mar;13:67–74.  

14. NHS. Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) [Internet]. Health A-Z. 2017 [cited 2019 Apr 2]. Available from:  https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/body-dysmorphia/ 

15. Sharpe H, Patalay P, Choo TH, Wall M, Mason SM, Goldschmidt AB, et al. Bidirectional associations between body dissatisfaction and depressive symptoms from adolescence through early adulthood. Dev Psychopathol. 2018 Oct 16;30(4):1447–58.  

16. Vannucci A, Ohannessian CMC. Body Image Dissatisfaction and Anxiety Trajectories During Adolescence. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2018 Sep 3;47(5):785–95.  

17. Bearman SK, Martinez E, Stice E, Presnell K. The Skinny on Body Dissatisfaction: A Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Girls and Boys. J Youth Adolesc. 2006 Apr;35(2):217–29.  

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22. DeYoung PA. Understanding and Treating Chronic Shame: A Relational/Neurobiological Approach. New York: Routledge; 2015. 190 p. 

Body image and mental health

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Body Image: Introduction

It takes me an hour or more, and finally I'm ready. Makeup, hair, outfit — and I have to get good lighting, the right angle, the right pose…

Now the real work begins: choosing the right picture. I took multiple shots, hoping one would be good enough to post. I begin to scroll through my camera roll, saying, "Nah, nope, no way, oh god" to almost every single one…

I over analyze the one I chose. It's not perfect but it will work. I literally start from the top and work to the bottom, whitening anything that's white, like my eyes and my teeth.

Next it's my blemishes, pimples and scars. I simply erase them with the touch of a finger like they've never been there.

Then my body.

Madison O’Dell, a Grade Twelve student at Holy Trinity High School [1]

Body image concerns have been documented in children as young as three, [2] but it’s adolescents who appear to be most at risk for developing unhealthy attitudes towards their bodies based on this perception. At a time where young people are focused on developing their individual identities, [3] they’re also highly susceptible to both social pressure and media images, [4] which can have a profound effect on how they see their bodies [5] . As young as 12, three-quarters of children “dislike their bodies and are embarrassed by the way they look.” [6]

While there is increasing evidence that a larger body by itself doesn’t necessarily lead to worse overall health, [7] having poor body image can have numerous negative effects: one recent meta-analysis found that one in five children and teens show signs of disordered eating. [8] Positive body image, on the other hand – which one study defined as "accepting, holding favorable opinions toward, and respecting the body, while also rejecting media-promoted appearance ideals as the only form of human beauty" – is linked to being more satisfied with one’s life. [9]

Attitudes towards body image are also connected to bullying, as children are more likely to bully those they see as being above average weight. [10]  Youth who have poor body image are also more likely to be perpetrators or targets of bullying behaviour. [11]  (See our resources on  gender stereotyping  and  cyberbullying  for more on how to deal with this issue.)

In a world where pervasive media images fuel unrealistic expectations about how we should look – and dissatisfaction if we fail to make the grade – it is vitally important that both girls and boys be taught the media literacy skills they need to critically engage with media representations of male and female bodies. The following sections explore the role various media play in influencing our perceptions about how we look and the role that media education can play in changing these representations and perceptions.

If you or someone you know needs support in dealing with an eating disorder, visit the National Eating Disorder Information Centre

[1] O’Dell, Madison. (2021) “How I used to edit my selfies to look pretty – and why I don’t anymore.” CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/unfiltered-social-media-and-mental-health-1.6267941

[2] Harriger, J.A., R.M. Calogero, D.C. Witherington et al. 2010. Body size stereotyping and the internalization of the thin ideal in preschool girls. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research 63: 1-5

[3] Slater, A., & Tiggemann, M. (2002). A test of objectification theory in adolescent girls. Sex Roles, 46(9/10), 343 – 349

[4] Tiggeman, M., & Pickering, A. S. (1996). Role of television in adolescent women’s body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 20(2), 199 – 203

[5] Clark, L., & Tiggemann, M. (2007). Sociocultural influences and body image in 9 to 12 year-old girls: The role of appearance schemas. Journal of Clinic Child and Adolescent Psychology, 36(1), 76-86.

[6] Hill, A. (2023) “Social media triggers children to dislike their own bodies says study.” The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jan/01/social-media-triggers-children-to-dislike-their-own-bodies-says-study

[7] Visaria, A., & Setoguchi, S. (2023). Body mass index and all-cause mortality in a 21st century US population: A National Health Interview Survey analysis. Plos one, 18(7), e0287218.

[8] Kite, J., Huang, B. H., Laird, Y., Grunseit, A., McGill, B., Williams, K., ... & Thomas, M. (2022). Influence and effects of weight stigmatisation in media: A systematic review. EClinicalMedicine , 48 .

[9] Swami, V., Tran, U. S., Stieger, S., Aavik, T., Ranjbar, H. A., Adebayo, S. O., ... & Lukács, A. (2023). Body appreciation around the world: Measurement invariance of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age. Body image, 46, 449-466.

[10] Thompson, I., Hong, J. S., Lee, J. M., Prys, N. A., Morgan, J. T., & Udo-Inyang, I. (2020). A review of the empirical research on weight-based bullying and peer victimisation published between 2006 and 2016. Educational Review, 72(1), 88-110.

[11] Shelton, Sarah and Laura Liljequist. Characteristics and behaviors associated with body image in male domestic violence offenders. Eating Behaviors Volume 3, Issue 3, Autumn 2002, Pages 217-227.

Developing a Strong Thesis Statement for Your English Essay