Body image is important. Our body image is all about how we see ourselves and the way we feel about our body. Everybody has body image, and we will all experience negative and positive feelings towards ourselves at different points of our lives.
Learning how to improve our body image, and how to be more body positive, is good for our mental and physical wellbeing. Once we understand our relationship to our bodies, it can help us to figure out how best to look after ourselves through exercise, healthy eating, and checking in with our minds.
Find out how much you know about body image with this quiz:
Who is generally affected by a negative body image?
Body image is to do with how you feel about your body, and everyone has body image. Although certain groups can sometimes feel more pressure than others to look a certain way or be a certain weight or shape, everyone can experience negative body image at certain times in their life, or even throughout their lives. Learn more about body image.
Being body positive means:
Body positivity is about accepting that everyone’s body is different, and believing that no one should be treated differently based on their body size, shape, or features.
Which of the following can have an impact on body image?
There are many things that can impact how we feel about our bodies. Every culture has different ideas around what body type is and isn’t acceptable, and this can influence the way a person is treated based on their body. Comments from friends and family and things we see on social media can also have an impact on how we feel about ourselves. Learn more about the things that influence our body image.
Which of the following can help you improve your body image?
Improving your body image is about becoming more comfortable with how you look and accepting your body. Embracing your differences can help you get to a place where you can accept yourself for who you are. Judging other people or obsessing over an ideal body type will only make you feel worse. Diet and exercise should be centred around how these things make you feel, not how they will make you look.
Which of the following can contribute to a negative body image?
All of these things can contribute to a negative body image. Judging other people and comparing yourself to them can actually make you feel worse about yourself, especially if you are negative about features you share with another person. Becoming obsessed with weight and counting calories can also make you feel more negative about yourself. It’s better to focus on finding ways to nourish your body and doing exercise that makes you feel good.
True or False: Having a slimmer body means you are healthy
A person’s body size is not an indicator of someone’s health. A person could be slim and appear to others to be healthy, but could actually have a lot of unhealthy habits. Likewise, someone with a bigger body type could have healthy habits, such as eating well and exercising, and may be healthier than another person who is smaller than they are.
