essay on body image issues

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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Maria Caballero is a freelance writer who has been writing since high school. She believes that to be a writer doesn't only refer to excellent syntax and semantics but also knowing how to weave words together to communicate to any reader effectively.

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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

Featured Articles

Yes, What You Think About How You Look Affects Your Health and Well-Being

Your internal monologue when you look in the mirror — and whether the tone is more “My thighs look too big” or “My legs look strong” — can bear a lot on your health and well-being.

Here’s how your body image can affect your emotional wellness, your risk of eating disorders, and your physical health — along with a look at the impact of social media on body image.

How Your Body Image Affects Your Emotional and Mental Health

Negative feelings about the way your body looks don’t necessarily, but can very easily, translate into negative feelings about yourself as a whole. This negativity can take a toll on mental and emotional health.

“It is important to remember that when someone says, ‘I feel fat’ — that fat isn’t a feeling,” Kelman says. “An overfocus on body and weight can be an indication of avoidance of dealing with deeper feelings.”

When and Why Body Image Issues Lead to Eating Disorders

A negative body image may lead to unhealthy and dangerous behaviors, including those associated with eating disorders.

“Our thoughts directly impact our emotional experiences, including our bodily sensations, urges, and behaviors,” says Samantha DeCaro, PsyD , the director of clinical outreach and education at the Renfrew Center in Philadelphia, a residential eating disorder treatment facility. “Negative self-talk about the body often precedes harmful behaviors such as chronic dieting, isolating, restricting, overexercising, or bingeing and purging.”

“If a negative body image starts someone down the road to dieting, and dieting then increases the chances of engaging in other disordered eating behavior, I think that’s one of the most significant risks of a negative body image,” Dr. Engler says.

Body Image and Other Problems With Physical Health

A negative body image can lead to problems that go beyond your emotional and mental health. Feeling bad about your body can affect your physical well-being if you avoid visiting the doctor out of fear of being judged or shamed and therefore miss out on key preventive care measures, Dr. DeCaro points out.

A negative body image that leads to an eating disorder may endanger your physical health. “Those who restrict their [food] intake might experience various health complications such as malnourishment, cardiac abnormalities, gastrointestinal issues, muscle loss, and osteoporosis,” DeCaro says. “And those who struggle with binge eating might experience high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, or high blood pressure.”

A word of caution, however: While a positive body image is generally a good thing, being unrealistically positive can cause you to overlook real health issues. “There’s so much [in our culture] about body acceptance — that you should accept your body the way it is — but sometimes that can give the wrong message to individuals who are at an unhealthy body weight,” says Paakhi Srivastava, PhD , an assistant research professor at the Center for Weight, Eating and Lifestyle Science (WELL Clinic) at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

For instance, obesity can put you at higher risk of various medical conditions, and if you avoid taking steps to mitigate those risks and improve your health (in the name of being body positive or for any other reason), that can be dangerous, Dr. Srivastava says.

Can Body Neutrality Foster a Healthy Body Image?

While there are a lot of harms linked to a negative body image, not everyone needs to have a positive body image to have a healthy one. Working toward body neutrality , which DeCaro says involves respecting your body for what it can do rather than strictly what it looks like, can be beneficial. “Body neutrality can decrease the guilt and shame associated with a ‘bad body image day’ or feeling frustrated with your body,” DeCaro says.

Any overfocus on your body can be problematic, Engler says. So if a more neutral stance keeps you from thinking about and overthinking your appearance, well-being benefits should follow.

Editorial Sources and Fact-Checking

Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy . We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.

• Body Image. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health. February 17, 2021.
• Body Image and Eating Disorders. National Eating Disorders Association.
• Self-Esteem. University of Texas at Austin Counseling and Mental Health Center.
• How Does Body Image Affect Our Mental Health? Mindwise.
• Garcia SC et al. Increased Rates of Eating Disorders and Their Symptoms in Women With Major Depressive Disorder and Anxiety Disorders. International Journal of Eating Disorders . November 2020.
• Nayir T et al. Does Body Image Affect Quality of Life? A Population Based Study. PLoS One . September 20, 2016.
• National Eating Disorders Association. Risk Factors.
• National Eating Disorders Association. Body Image and Eating Disorders.
• Eating Disorders: Prevention, Treatment and Management: An Evidence Review . The National Eating Disorders Collaboration. March 2010.
• National Institute of Mental Health. Eating Disorders: About More Than Food. 2021.
• Andrew R et al. Predictors and Health-Related Outcomes of Positive Body Image in Adolescent Girls: A Prospective Study. Developmental Psychology . March 2016.

Home — Essay Samples — Social Issues — Body Shaming — Modern Concerns of Body Shaming

Modern Concerns of Body Shaming

• Categories: Body Shaming Bullying

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Words: 1048 |

Published: Aug 31, 2023

Words: 1048 | Pages: 2 | 6 min read

Table of contents

Introduction, historical context of body shaming, psychological impacts, perpetrators and media influence.

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Body image as a global mental health concern

Rachel f. rodgers.

1 APPEAR, Department of Applied Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

2 Department of Psychiatric Emergency & Acute Care, Lapeyronie Hospital, CHRU Montpellier, Montpellier, France

Katherine Laveway

Priscila campos.

3 NICTA, Body Image and Eating Disorders Research Group, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Brazil

Pedro Henrique Berbert de Carvalho

4 AMBULIM, Eating Disorders Program, Institute of Psychiatry, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

Peer Review Summary

Body image concerns related to weight or other dimensions of appearance are now prevalent on a global scale. This paper reviews the theoretical frameworks that account for the global similarities and regional differences in rates and presentation of body image concerns, as well as reviewing the extant data. Given the harmful consequences of body image concerns in terms of mental and physical health, their global burden is high. Interventions to mitigate these concerns at the individual and systemic level are warranted.

Impact statement

Body image concerns include preoccupation and dissatisfaction with the body’s appearance including its shape and weight as well as other characteristics. Body image concerns are present across the globe due to strong pressures to pursue appearance ideals. Although these concerns may vary with cultural context, their prevalence and association with poor mental and physical health are global. Given these high rates and the negative effects of body image concerns, it is important to increase our efforts to prevent and decrease them across the globe.

Introduction

Body image is a multidimensional construct encompassing the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of an individual related to their own appearance (Cash, 2004 ). Body image is often conceptualized as including both an evaluative aspect (satisfaction or concern with appearance) and an evaluation of the centrality of body image to an individual’s identity (Jarry et al., 2019 ). Historically, much of the empirical research has focused on body image from a deficit lens, in particular as a risk factor for poor mental health and psychopathology including eating disorders and other mental health concerns. In addition, this work has been helpful in highlighting body image concerns as a mental health concern in its own right. Nevertheless, more recently increasing attention has been focused on body image through a positive psychology lens (Tylka and Wood-Barcalow, 2015 ) and the ways in which positive body image can be related to well-being. As part of this focus on positive body image, more attention has been paid to nonappearance dimensions of body image such as functionality and embodiment (Piran, 2019 ; Alleva and Tylka, 2021 ).

Much of the early literature in the area of body image, up until the new millennium, stemmed from English-speaking high-income countries. In recent years, this literature has been expanded to include work from a range of countries and geographic regions. The aim of this review is to offer a critical synthesis of the literature that exists on body image at a global level. First, prevailing theoretical frameworks that have guided this work will be reviewed. Second, the existing data regarding body image at a global level will be summarized. Finally, implications and future directions will be offered.

Theoretical overview

Several theories have been developed to usefully guide investigations into body image. These frameworks place important emphasis on the role of elements at different levels, ranging from theories focusing on macro-level elements such as social discourse and institution, and those centered on the role of individual-level factors. Here, dominant theories are presented in order of narrowing lens, from the macro- to individual level.

Body capital

The acceleration of highly visual culture, facilitated by digital technologies in recent years, has exacerbated the extent to which the body’s appearance is a central source of capital for individuals worldwide (Bourdieu, 2018 ). Body capital consists of two distinct dimensions: (1) the amount of body capital held by an individual and (2) the extent to which individuals are encouraged to invest in their body as a source of capital. Both of these dimensions are related to the matrices of power and privilege that underpin the majority of contemporary societies in which certain bodies hold more social power than others. Thus, a body that is read as holding certain identities and that is closer to social beauty standards will hold more body capital. Conversely, individuals whose identities afford them lower power and privilege, such as Black and Indigenous People of Color, and those who live in larger bodies, are more strongly encouraged to invest in their appearance as a source of capital. This perspective is relevant when considering who within a certain group is thus more likely to experience their body as related to their experiences of oppression, while concurrently experiencing it as a modifiable source of potential capital (Edmonds, 2007 ; Hunter, 2011 ).

Sociocultural theories

Sociocultural theories highlight how messages from broad social discourses, relayed by proximal sociocultural agents (such as the media or the interpersonal environment), influence individuals’ beliefs regarding appearance and thereby their body image. Thus, for example, social discourses regarding the moral value of pursuing an appearance that conforms to external standards, including in terms of weight, and that encourages individuals to discipline and self-monitor their bodies have been useful (Thompson et al., 1999 ; Fitzsimmons-Craft, 2011 ). In addition, these theories have made important contributions in highlighting the increasing demands placed on individuals in terms of appearance standards, the unrealistic nature of beauty ideals, as well as their progressive globalization (Widdows, 2018 ). While it is true that appearance ideals vary across cultures, as well as social identities including gender and sexual orientation, it is also the case that a globalized ideal that is slender, toned yet curvy for women and muscular and lean for men, and golden in skin tone is emerging (Widdows, 2018 ). These theories also highlight how these socially constructed appearance standards serve political and economic goals as their inherent unattainability generates large financial profits as individuals strive to pursue them, while their perpetuation of oppressive social hierarchies contributes to maintaining the existing systems of power and privilege (Hesse-Biber et al., 2006 ; Rodgers, 2022 as cited in Aimé, 2022 ). Empirical work grounded in these theories has been useful in identifying mechanisms through which sociocultural discourses and appearance ideals are internalized by individuals, and the role of appearance comparison in the development and maintenance of body image concerns (Shroff and Thompson, 2006 ; Rodgers et al., 2011 ; Schaefer et al., 2019 ).

Related to the idea of body capital, Westernization, urbanization, and rapid economic growth have been posited to be linked to increased body image concerns through intensifying media and advertising pressures, as well as competition for resources and social mobility (Becker, 2004 ; McLaren and Kuh, 2004 ; Gorrell et al., 2019 ). From this perspective, countries that are most affluent, as well as those that are undergoing the most rapid cultural and economic transitions, are likely to be those where the highest rates of body image concerns are found.

Critical feminist theories

Critical feminist theories have been useful in identifying how gendered processes that serve economic and political goals of gender majorities, including the objectification of women and gender minorities, are related to body image (Peterson et al., 2008 ; Roberts et al., 2018 ). These theories emphasize how the gendered nature of body ideals and the social value attributed to appearance serve to further protect existing gender hierarchies. Thus, for example, socializing women to be invested in achieving an unrealistically slender and highly groomed appearance diverts energies and resources away from other (political and social) activities and continues to perpetuate systems in which women’s social worth is indexed to their appearance (Widdows, 2018 ; Piran, 2019 ). In addition, these theories have highlighted how the objectification of women in society, in particular through media images, leads to women internalizing the need to self-monitor one’s body, in the form of self-surveillance and self-objectification, and how these factors are also associated with poor body image (Fitzsimmons-Craft, 2011 ).

Minority stress theories

A third important group of theories has highlighted how individuals who hold minoritized identities may experience and fear appearance-based discrimination (Brewster et al., 2017 ; Veldhuis et al., 2017 ; Brewster et al., 2019 ). These experiences and the associated anxiety lead to negative affect, a recognized risk factor for body image concerns, as well as heightened preoccupation with appearance. In addition, individuals may engage in efforts to avoid discrimination and the associated anxiety by attempting to modify their appearance through behaviors that may be harmful in the long term, as well as avoiding situations in ways that may be impairing over time.

A comprehensive integrative model of minority stress and sociocultural theory was useful to better understand how minority stressors (heterosexist discrimination, sexual orientation concealment, and internalized homophobia) were related to sociocultural influences (sociocultural pressures, thin ideal, and muscular-ideal internalization) and body image concerns and related body change behaviors (Convertino et al., 2021 ).

Empirical evidence across countries

High-income english-speaking countries.

The large majority of the available research has stemmed from high-income English-speaking countries such as the USA, Canada, the UK, and Australia (Holmqvist and Frisén, 2010 ). In such cultural contexts, strong adherence to unrealistically slender and muscular ideals is overall found, with little variation across high socioeconomic status sites (Swami et al., 2010 ). In such contexts, body image concerns are highly prevalent and tend to be greatest among individuals with minoritized identities including women, sexual and gender minorities, individuals living in larger bodies, and those from minoritized racial and ethnic backgrounds (Frederick et al., 2022 ). Appearance ideals that are gendered, heteronormative, ableist, ageist, and Eurocentric contribute to centering concerns around weight, muscularity, youth, fairness, and related characteristics across groups.

Research has suggested that levels of body image concerns in high-income English-speaking countries, particularly in the USA, are among the highest globally, with the exception of pockets of very affluent and Westernized areas, such as within Asia (Holmqvist and Frisén, 2010 ). It is also within such contexts that research focusing on positive body image has received the greatest attention (Halliwell, 2015 ), as well as research aiming to refine explanatory models of body image concerns that account for interindividual variations (Pachankis et al., 2020 ).

In the USA and in other English-speaking high-income countries, negative body image has been associated with eating disorders (Drummond, 2002 ; McLean and Paxton, 2019 ), as well as depression and postpartum depression (Brausch and Gutierrez, 2009 ; Silveira et al., 2015 ), and poor psychosocial functioning (Davison and McCabe, 2006 ). Effective interventions to decrease body image concerns have been developed, in particular those that increase understandings of the socially constructed nature of appearance ideals and decrease adherence to them (Marchand et al., 2011 ; Lewis-Smith et al., 2019 ). Notably, sometimes these interventions address eating disorders as the main outcome and body image as a risk factor (Marchand et al., 2011 ). However, these interventions need to be embedded more systematically into existing networks and systems, and efforts to decrease universal risk need to be increased (Bell et al., 2016 ).

European countries

Studies in European non-English-speaking countries have overall evidenced findings that are similar to those in high-income English-speaking countries, although overall rates of body image concerns tend to be lower than in the USA (Frederick et al., 2007 ; Holmqvist and Frisén, 2010 ). Within Europe, variations exist in terms of body image, for example, individuals from Belgium and Portugal have reported lower rates of body size satisfaction as compared to Norway and Denmark (Kvalem et al., 2020 ).

Latin countries such as Portugal and Spain tend to place more emphasis on appearance, which is accompanied by higher rates of cosmetic surgery and body image concerns (Stefanile et al., 2015 ). Consistent with the theories described previously, high rates of appearance investment and anxiety in Cyprus, as compared to other European countries, were interpreted as being related to the lower economic power of the area and recent rapid urbanization and change (Koutsantoni et al., 2020 ).

Among European samples, body image has been found to be associated with mental health concerns including internalizing symptoms (Ramos et al., 2019 ), eating disorder symptoms (Rodgers et al., 2011 ), and poor psychological functioning (Corry et al., 2009 ; Træen et al., 2016 ). Given the preliminary evidence for the burden of body image concerns in Europe, continuing to develop efforts toward prevention is critical (Barbosa, 2021 ).

Latin America

Body image disturbances and physical appearance concerns are prevalent in most Latin American countries (McArthur et al., 2005 ; Silva et al., 2011 ; Forbes et al., 2012 ; Amaral and Ferreira, 2017 ; Swami et al., 2020 : Bolívar-Suárez et al., 2021 ; León-Paucar et al., 2021 ). Research points to several sociocultural factors related to body image concerns in Latin American samples, such as pressure to achieve socially prescribed body ideals and the internalization of appearance ideals (Austin and Smith, 2008 ; Mellor et al., 2008 ; Forbes et al., 2012 ; de Carvalho et al., 2017 ; de Carvalho and Ferreira, 2020 ), unique pressures to meet unrealistic standards of beauty (Forbes et al., 2012 ; Gruber et al., 2022 ), thin-ideal awareness (Moreno-Domínguez et al., 2019 ), negative appearance-related messages from family members (Rivero et al., 2022 ), acculturative stress (Quiñones et al., 2022 ), and acculturation (Marquez and Benitez, 2021 ).

It is noteworthy that poor mental health has been associated with body image concerns in Latin American countries, including low self-esteem (Amaral and Ferreira, 2017 ; Bolívar-Suárez et al., 2021 ), depressive symptoms (Amaral and Ferreira, 2017 ; Delgado-Floody et al., 2021 ; León-Paucar et al., 2021 ), poor psychological well-being (Amaral and Ferreira, 2017 ; Lemes et al., 2018 ; Matias et al., 2020 ), mental health concerns (Pinheiro et al., 2007 ; Silva et al., 2011 ), and eating disorder symptoms (Compte et al., 2015 ; Amaral and Ferreira, 2017 ; de Carvalho et al., 2017 ; de Carvalho and Ferreira, 2020 ). Although effective interventions to decrease body image concerns have been developed for Latin Americans (Castillo et al., 2019 ; Almeida et al., 2021 ; Rutsztein et al., 2021 ; Resende et al., 2022 ), there is still a critical need to position body image as a priority in public mental health policies, and again several of these programs address body image as a risk factor within eating disorder prevention. This may be particularly challenging in Latin America countries, given difficulties faced in their operationalization, financing, and adaptation to sociocultural realities (Leiva-Peña et al., 2021 ).

Asia and South-East Asia

Beauty ideals in Asia and South-East Asia have been described as centering around being small-bodied as well as a particular emphasis on facial features (Mellor et al., 2013 ) and skin tone (Prusaczyk and Choma, 2018 ). Asia is a very diverse area in terms of affluence and cultural groups, and unsurprisingly, these differences have been found to be associated with variations in body image concerns. Thus, for example, in highly Westernized and affluent parts of Asia, levels of body image concerns are among the highest in the world (e.g. Shih and Kubo, 2005 ; Jung et al., 2009 ).

As in other cultures, support has been found for the role of media influence in body image across Asian countries including in Singapore (Chang et al., 2019 ), Taiwan (Chang et al., 2013 ), Korea (You and Shin, 2020 ), Hong Kong and China (Rochelle and Hu, 2017 ), and Japan (Ando et al., 2021 ), as well as the role of the internalization of appearance ideals (Omori et al., 2017 ; Hsu et al., 2021 ). In addition, work has been accumulating from a positive body image perspective, suggesting that these constructs are relevant to these groups (Swami and Jaafar, 2012 ; Todd and Swami, 2020 ).

As documented in other cultural contexts, in Asian countries body image concerns have been associated with eating disorder symptoms (Yamamiya et al., 2008 ; Chisuwa and O’Dea, 2010 ; Kaewpradub et al., 2017 ), depression (Prusaczyk and Choma, 2018 ), and poorer quality of life (Santhira Shagar et al., 2021 ). In very recent years, prevention efforts have been extended to affluent and developing areas of Asia (Craddock et al., 2021 ; Danthinne et al., 2022 ; Garbett et al., 2022 ); however, more work is needed.

The Middle East

Body image concerns are present in the Middle East; however, much of the existing work has focused on women, with rare exceptions (Melki et al., 2015 ; Saghir and Hyland, 2017 ). A study among women from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Oman, and Syria revealed that in each country 32–39% of women reported being dissatisfied with their body weight, and 17–22% reported a preference for the body shape of Western models (Musaiger, 2015 ). In another study among women from southwestern Saudi Arabia, 77% indicated a discrepancy between their actual, perceived, and ideal weights (Khalaf et al., 2015 ).

Similar to findings in other settings, urbanization has been associated with a preference for thinness (Jackson et al., 2003 ), and research has pointed to the role of sociocultural factors in body image concerns, including the role of media (Tayyem et al., 2016 ; Saghir and Hyland, 2017 ) and the internalization of appearance ideals (Melki et al., 2015 ; Zainal et al., 2020 ). Perhaps in this geographic area more than others, the role of cultural and religious values and behaviors has been explored, with findings suggesting that the relationships are complex and require further disentangling (Al-Mutawa et al., 2019 ; Sidi et al., 2020 ).

Again, as in other contexts, body image concerns have been associated with eating disorder symptoms in students from Iran (Naeimi et al., 2016 ) and with depression among students in Turkey (Tayfur and Evrensel, 2020 ). These findings suggest that here too, body image may be accompanied by significant mental health burden, and that tailoring and extending prevention efforts to these settings would be important.

While specific appearance ideals and body image concerns vary across contexts throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, traditional standards of beauty for women often reflect a preference for a larger body size and a fuller, curvier shape (Furnham and Baguma, 1994 ; Tovée et al., 2006 ; Naigaga et al., 2018 ). These traditional standards of attractiveness and beauty continue to exert influence on body image ideals today, with women and men at higher weights endorsing greater appearance satisfaction than those at lower weights (Otakpor and Ehimigbai, 2016 ; Tuoyire et al., 2018 ).

Consistent with this, cross-cultural work has supported that body image satisfaction, including as related to weight and muscularity, is higher among groups from African countries as compared to similarly aged groups from countries such as China, Indonesia, and Ecuador (Blum et al., 2021 ), and the UK (Thornborrow et al., 2020 ).

However, globalization has brought increasing pressures to achieve Eurocentric beauty ideals and a greater desire for smaller hips, larger buttocks, straight hair, lighter skin tones, and slimmer noses among African women (Balogun-Mwangi et al., under review ; Eddy et al., 2007 ; Kaziga et al., 2021 ). Consistent with theories regarding the role of accelerating modernity, among women in South Africa, Cameroon, and Uganda, higher levels of desire for thinness and preference for smaller bodies have developed (Dapi et al., 2007 ; Prioreschi et al., 2017 ; Kaziga et al., 2021 ), as well as a preference for Eurocentric beauty ideals among women from Nigeria versus Kenya (Balogun-Mwangi et al., under review ). Thus, appearance ideals may be changing in African countries and pressures to pursue mainstream globalized appearances may be increasing.

As predicted by sociocultural theories, these pressures, including pressures from social media, which represents a principal source of globalized appearance pressures, have been found to be associated with body size dissatisfaction (Michels and Amenyah, 2017 ), desire for a thinner body (Terhoeven et al., 2020 ), and poorer overall body image (Kaziga et al., 2021 ) in Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Uganda, respectively. Although multiple factors may be at play, increased exposure to Western (but not Zimbabwean) media was found to account for poorer body image among Zimbabwean women (Swami et al., 2012 ). The literature pertaining to body image among men in Africa is more scarce. Nevertheless, emerging research has suggested that while dissatisfaction with muscularity may be present in men, rates are lower than in other cultural contexts such as the USA (Frederick et al., 2007 ).

Consistent with findings from around the globe, in Africa greater body image concerns have been associated with poorer mental health outcomes, including eating disorders (Prioreschi et al., 2017 ; Terhoeven et al., 2020 ), depression and anxiety (Corona et al., 2019 ), lower quality of life (Ejike, 2015 ), and general psychiatric morbidity (Otakpor and Ehimigbai, 2016 ). Again, efforts to prevent this burden would be important.

Global commonalities

Although differences exist, the literature has also highlighted commonalities across countries at the global level in terms of appearance ideals (Lipinski and Pope, 2002 ; Swami et al., 2010 ), the nature of body image concerns, and potential risk factors in the development of these concerns. Support has been found for media exposure, and particularly Westernized media exposure, as a correlate of poorer body image among adults across 26 countries in 10 world regions (Swami et al., 2010 ; Schaefer et al., 2019 ). Similarly, among adolescents from 24 countries across Europe, Canada, and the USA, the role of parental influence in body image has been supported (Al Sabbah et al., 2009 ). These findings provide strong support for continuing to ground work in sociocultural models that account for these pathways.

In addition, the literature has supported the fact that immigration from a lower income and less Westernized area to a higher income, urban, and Westernized area is frequently accompanied by increased body image concerns (Toselli et al., 2016 ). This increase may be related to greater exposure to Western media, as well as increased minority stress, and a loss of capital that may lead to body capital becoming more salient.

Importantly, the consistent findings regarding the association between body image and multiple indicators of poor mental health including eating disorders, mood disorders, and general impaired functioning highlight the critical nature of body image concerns. Coordinated efforts should be made to address this global issue.

Theoretical and practical implications

Theoretical implications.

Predominant theories that have been useful for conceptualizing body image concerns include those that highlight the importance of sociocultural identities, particularly from an intersectional and minority stress standpoint. The majority of the work that has been conducted outside of high-income Western countries has focused on sociocultural elements including pressures toward thinness and internalization of media ideals (e.g. Moreno-Domínguez et al., 2019 ; Zainal et al., 2020 ; Hsu et al., 2021 ). This represents an important gap, as theories that can account for the ways in which appearance is tied to power and privilege are likely particularly useful ones in such contexts. Future work at the global level should seek to explore these facets to a greater extent. It is notable, however, that the work grounded in sociocultural theories suggested that these frameworks and their related constructs are still applicable outside of affluent Western contexts. Together, these findings suggest that additional attention should be focused on extending theories to be culturally informed and sensitive to cultural variations as well as integrating important elements of minority and intersectionality theory.

Practice implications

From a practice perspective, findings highlight three important elements. First, the prevalence of body image concerns worldwide is high. Second, these concerns are robustly linked to mental health concerns. Third, prevention efforts are limited by their failure to be embedded in existing structures (e.g. school curriculum, etc.) and by the fact that some of the programs that have received the greatest research attention target body image in the context of eating disorder prevention. Together, these three elements point to an urgent need to elevate the seriousness of appearance concerns at a global level and to continue efforts to develop universal and targeted interventions with a broad reach that can be easily disseminated, for example through embedding them in existing services for youth or by leveraging the reach of digital technologies. These efforts should build on additional work extending theoretical frameworks that can identify cross-cultural core intervention targets (such as internalization of appearance ideals) as well as culturally specific ones.

Future directions

Although initially constricted to high-income English-speaking countries, the empirical literature focused on body image has started to extend to a global level, making important contributions to our knowledge of the global burden of body image concerns. Despite these contributions, several areas of future research emerge.

Extending to more diverse groups

Replicating the ways in which the body image literature developed within the field, the majority of the extant literature from areas such as Africa or the Middle East has to date largely focused on women and thinness-related concerns. Moving forward, it will be important to extend this work to more diverse groups in terms of gender, sexual orientation, age, and ability. Moreover, while important work has been conducted on the role of urbanization, it will be important to better understand how low socioeconomic status may place individuals at greatest risk for body image concerns and unhealthy behaviors in urban settings. Finally, using an intersectional lens will enrich the literature and provide a more fine-grained understanding of the way vulnerability to these concerns is distributed through the population (Burke et al., 2020 ).

Expanding to more culturally relevant understandings of body image

As described above, a large amount of the existing literature has centered on body weight and shape, with a predominant focus on thinness and to some extent on muscularity. Evidence for the importance of other aspects of appearance in body image exists, however (Lowy et al., 2021 ). Future research should seek to better characterize the aspects of appearance that may be particularly central to body image in different groups so as to conduct culturally sensitive research.

In addition, greater focus on positive elements of body image will help to shift conceptualizations toward a strengths-based model and to increase understanding of the unique strengths certain cultural groups may have in terms of positive body image. In particular, exploring settings in which appearance is less salient may be helpful for understanding how to decenter appearance in affluent and highly Westernized contexts.

Preventing and decreasing body image concerns

Finally, given the global rates and commonalities of body image concerns, greater efforts should be made to prevent and decrease these concerns. Although scalable interventions have started to emerge across the globe (Marchand et al., 2011 ; Craddock et al., 2021 ; Garbett et al., 2022 ), this work is still in its infancy. In addition to developing such programs, working with stakeholders and policymakers is crucial to decreasing universal risk for body image concerns effectively at a global level, with Western media emerging as a particularly important target (Bell et al., 2016 ).

Conclusions

The findings from this review highlight how body image concerns constitute a burden at the global level, with higher levels of risk among already vulnerable groups. The oppressive nature of appearance ideals, combined with their function to maintain social hierarchies and generate profit, contributes to explaining this increased risk. The variations in risk observed at the global level, which map onto levels of economic development and international power, are to some extent replicated within countries (such as within the USA where minoritized groups experience greater concerns) and geographic areas (e.g. in Europe, where lower income countries report higher levels of body image concerns). However, countries in which Westernized appearance ideals are still only gaining ground, and where the social emphasis on appearance is lower, may still be protected from body image concerns to some extent (Frederick et al., 2007 ).

Open peer review

To view the open peer review materials for this article, please visit http://doi.org/10.1017/gmh.2023.2 .

Author contributions

All authors contributed to reviewing the relevant research, drafting the first version of the manuscript, and final editing.

Competing interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

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Author comment: Body image as a global mental health concern — R0/PR1

Rachel rodgers.

Northeastern University, United States

8th August 2022

Dear Sir,

My coauthors and I would like to submit our manuscript titled “Body image as a global mental health concern” to Global Mental Health. Our review highlights the prevalence of body image concerns across the globe as well as associated risk factors, and the need for universal and targeted prevention.

Many thanks in advance for your time and consideration. We look forward to hearing from you,

Yours sincerely,

Rachel Rodgers, Ph.D.. FAED

Associate Professor

Review: Body image as a global mental health concern — R0/PR2

Kristina holmqvist.

University of Gothenburg, Sweden

Comments to Author : Thank you for the opportunity to review this interesting manuscript. It is well-written, well-organized, and takes a much-needed global perspective on the widespread body image concerns across continents. It describes different theoretical frameworks for understanding body image concerns globally and it also summarizes what is known from research in different regions. I very much enjoyed reading this paper. Theories and results are clearly described. I especially liked the idea of interpreting the different rates in body image concerns in the light of the different theoretical frameworks and I think the paper could be improved by adding even more discussion/links between these. Below are my more specific comments:

Page 2: Body image is defined as “thoughts, feelings and behaviors of an individual related to their own appearance”, but body image may also comprise thoughts, feelings and behaviors related to other aspects of the body (health, functionality). Does this study focus more on the appearance domain? Please specify.

Page 2: “the early literature” – what time period does this refer to?

Page 2: it says “individuals whose identities afford them lower power and privilege” – could you please give examples?

Page 4: “toned yet curvy ideal” seems to describe a female ideal although this is not made explicit. Is there a global male ideal too?

Page 4: Critical feminist theories are salient in current body image research. Should this perspective be more emphasized in the theoretical part?

Page 2-5: It strikes me after reading the results that the research described seems to be investigating body image concerns mostly from sociocultural theory. It could be a good idea to think about the order of presentation of the theories, for example by starting with the most explored theory.

Page 6: it is stated that effective interventions have been developed – could you add some information regarding the focus of these interventions? This could be helpful for the other regions too.

Page 6: “In contrast, Latin countries…”. The previous sentence describes findings from Portugal which could be defined as a European Latin country. Should “in contrast” be removed from the sentence? Findings seem not to be in contrast. Should it be “Latin countries such as Portugal and X..”?

On page 14: “with higher levels of risk among already vulnerable groups.” – which are these groups? For example, one of the findings is that body image concerns are more salient in high-income English-speaking countries. This may not be considered a vulnerable group.

Some overall comments:

As mentioned above, I would like to see more connections between the results and the theories described. This is only briefly discussed on page 12 and I find this part very interesting. I think extending this discussion (for example in a section of its own) could really improve the paper. How can we understand the results in relation to the theories described? Is there support for all theories? How should future intervention/prevention look like considering these findings/theoretical frameworks?

Finally, there are a few grammatical errors/ typos in the MS, for example page 2 “privilege than underpin”, and page 4 “the role (of) appearance comparisons”.

Review: Body image as a global mental health concern — R0/PR3

Comments to Author : Manuscript ID: GMH-22-0225

The authors proposed an important review of the theoretical frameworks about body image concerns through the different regions of the globe. This is a relevant topic to be discussed, given its implications in our society, especially in mental health field. That said, I have some questions, concerns and comments.

1. I understand the limitation of the words count to give an in-depth discussion about the theoretical concepts elected. However, I think that the presentation of the theories (Body Capital, Sociocultural and Minority stress) is excessively superficial.

P.3 – when talking about Body Capital, the authors cite Edmonds (2007) and Hunter (2011) that are secondary references, i.e., they cite the original authors. It would be better if the authors cited original theorists such as Pierre Bourdieu.

P. 3 – the topic’s number is 2.2 instead of 2.3.

P. 4 – I think it is important add some references to the following phrase: “These theories also highlight how […] existing systems of power and privilege”.

P. 5 – I suggest better explain the integrative model by Convertino et al. (2021).

2. The topic about the empirical evidence across countries is very diverse. They lack unity and cohesion. The information about some regions is more complete and more detailed than others. Also, the authors cite some old studies (from 2010, for example) to sustain the argumentation. About prevention programs, I suggest that the authors standardize the inclusion of eating disorders prevention programs that contain body image concerns in its scripts (such as the Body Project versions cited in the Latin America topic), making this information clear in the text. For example, when talking about prevention programs target specifically on body image concerns, this should be highlighted as well as when the programs that are being cited are ED prevention interventions.

P. 7 – The authors cited Diedrichs et al. (2015) as a study among non-English speaking countries. However, this research was carried out in UK.

P. 7 – The study from Barbosa (2021) is not cited in the references.

3. In order to better establish the relevance and innovation of the proposed review, the authors should add a topic summarizing how the found results across globe confirm or refute the theoretical concepts elected and presented (Body Capital, Sociocultural and Minority stress). Moreover, a better discussion about the implication of these information to the global mental health ins recommended.

Specific questions from the editor:

Question 1:

For global reviews, how well does the review cover global content in the inclusion of research, presentation of results, and/or in the discussion and implications? And how could this be improved/expanded?

The manuscript gives an overall framework about body image concerns around different regions of the globe. Besides that, it would be important to better discuss the implications of these information to the global mental health field.

Recommendation: Body image as a global mental health concern — R0/PR4

No accompanying comment.

Decision: Body image as a global mental health concern — R0/PR5

Decision: body image as a global mental health concern — r0/pr6.

The Impact of Social Media on Body Image, Eating, and Health

Emerging research suggests social media may be more harmful than we realize..

Posted February 8, 2022 | Reviewed by Hara Estroff Marano

• Social media use is on the rise, with over 70 percent of Americans regularly online.
• Social media and dating apps are potentially harmful to users, both emotionally and physically.
• Researchers have found negative effects on body image, eating behavior, mood, and physical health.
• Future research is required to better understand current findings and to determine how to safeguard healthy use of social media..

Social media captivates like nothing else, drawing us into a kaleidoscope of digitally mediated relationships, information and disinformation, and an endless experience of virtual window shopping. We don't always know what we are buying, however.

We’ve embarked on a vast social experiment without giving much thought to how it will play out. The scope of the problem is hard to overstate—between 2005 and 2021, as reported by the Pew Research Center, the average number of Americans regularly using social media has gone from 5 percent to over 70 percent, and rising.

Mirror, Mirror

As the science-fiction quality of the metaverse (described by Neal Stephenson in his classic 1992 novel Snow Crash ) becomes a reality, there is no question that what it means to be human is shifting, with uncertainty, promise, and peril.

More than anything, social media has become a mirror through which we catch a glimpse of ourselves, literally through selfies and photos taken by others, and through how we react to one another, through our experience of online connectedness both on major social media platforms as well as through dating apps and live interactive online events—and through the prospect of fully immersive experiences in virtual reality, within which we can take on any identity we wish in a world freed from the laws of physics and logic.

Researchers, too, have been paying attention to social media, how the digital migration to living online more than in the real world is affecting people. From concerns that we are becoming more pathologically narcissistic , immersed in our smartphone realities where we present a sugar-coated version of ourselves while comparing ourselves to impossibly perfect, processed images of others and their glamorous lives, to getting ground down through the virtual meat market of online dating, to losing critical attachment skills required for intimate relationships, to the potential effect on physical health, to the effects on political systems and global stability, the need to understand what social media is doing to us is more pressing now than ever before.

With the above in mind, four recent studies highlight emerging correlations between social media and dating app use and health outcomes.

Mathew and colleagues (2022) sought to understand how social media use may lead to body dissatisfaction. Following a group of over 6,000 adults (about 60 percent women, average age in their early 50s, ranging from 19-92 years old) and using standardized measures, researchers asked participants about social media use, body dissatisfaction, body mass index (BMI), and a range of demographic variables. They followed them over the course of several years, starting in 2015, to determine whether social media use predicted future body dissatisfaction.

They found that increased social media use predicted body dissatisfaction one year later, and body dissatisfaction also predicted greater social media use, with a small but significant effect size. There were differences between men and women: Social media use and body dissatisfaction worked both ways for women, but for men, while body satisfaction predicted social media use, the reverse was not true in this sample. Being younger, female, and having a higher BMI were associated with greater body image dissatisfaction.

Portingalea and colleagues focused on how women’s dating app use affected daily mood, body image, and eating behavior. Nearly 300 women ranging in age from 18 to 48 participated in this study, completing a baseline survey of lifetime dating app use, partner preference with a focus on whether they sought idealized or realistic partners in terms of physical traits, and the degree of their own rejection sensitivity related to looks. Researchers followed them with a smartphone-based assessment daily for one week, rating daily experiences of body dissatisfaction, disordered eating urges (e.g. to binge eat), and mood.

One-third of participants showed a correlation between lifetime dating app use and both disordered eating urges and negative mood. Neither idealized partner preference nor rejection sensitivity were correlated with eating or mood in this study.

Carter and colleagues looked at whether the coherence of sense of self, known as “ self-concept clarity”, influenced social media users to compare themselves with online depictions of idealized slender bodies. Near 500 women aged 18 to 25 participated in this study, completing a measure of self-concept clarity and body image dissatisfaction, rating experimental images showing either idealized bodies or neutral comparisons.

Participants with lower self-concept clarity compared themselves more with idealized body images and consequently reported greater body image dissatisfaction. The findings suggest that having a less well-developed sense of self increases the risk of negative reactions when browsing social media.

Lee and colleagues recruited 251 undergraduate students for a landmark early study looking at how physical health may be affected by the stress associated with social media use. In addition to demographic information, participants completed a composite measure of social media use, focusing on Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, to estimate total social media load.

The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ15) was used for somatic symptoms (such as headache, body aches, and chest pain), as well as depression . Participants' use of health care was assessed based on how many times they’d visited a health center or physician’s office, or otherwise sought medical care for a medical condition, in the prior three months. Data were collected before the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, participants’ blood was drawn and tested for C-reactive protein (CRP), a common marker of inflammation.

They found that greater social media use was associated with increased somatic symptoms, regardless of depression symptoms. Greater social media use was associated with more healthcare visits, also independent of depression. Finally, controlling for other factors (demographics, birth control use, depression, healthcare use), CRP levels were significantly elevated among those reporting greater social media use.

A Call to Action?

Emerging research on social media use is concerning. Social media use is associated with negative psychological and general health outcomes, ranging from body-image dissatisfaction, problematic eating, greater healthcare utilization for physical symptoms, and potential negative effects on physiology (e.g. increased inflammatory blood markers). The observation that low self-concept clarity leaves users vulnerable to body-image dissatisfaction is noteworthy; low self-concept clarity has also been associated with difficulty leaving unsatisfying relationships .

Future research is needed to replicate or refute these findings, to map out the exact mechanisms by which social media may adversely impact health, and to work out ways in which social media may be useful and even help improve physical and emotional health.

Social media and internet dating companies interested in the public good can use these data to ensure that the tools they provide are not causing harm—and preferably to improve users' health. As the public becomes more aware of the pros and cons of social media use, market forces are likely to increase the demand for companies to work on behalf of customers while also looking to the bottom line.

As families and individuals make choices about social media, it is of critical importance that they be armed with up-to-date information about the impact of such behavior on health and well-being. For parents, this research adds to the growing body of cautionary information and is a call to get educated and manage social media immersion. For healthcare providers, assessing patients for social media use is a key element of treatment planning.

This research shows that it’s not only younger folks who are at risk from social media but also adults across the lifespan. There's no denying that social media and all the other promises of evolving information technology and machine learning hold great potential to improve quality of life, but only if we slow down and study the effect of these spectacular new tools and learn to use them wisely.

Mathew D. Marques, Susan J. Paxton, Siân A. McLean, Hannah K. Jarman, Chris G. Sibley, A prospective examination of relationships between social media use and body dissatisfaction in a representative sample of adults, Body Image, Volume 40, 2022, Pages 1-11, ISSN 1740-1445, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2021.10.008 .

Jade Portingale, Matthew Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, Shanshan Liu, Sarah Eddy, Xinyue Liu, Sarah Giles, Isabel Krug, Love me Tinder: The effects of women’s lifetime dating app use on daily body dissatisfaction, disordered eating urges, and negative mood, Body Image, Volume 40, 2022, Pages 310-321, ISSN 1740-1445, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2022.01.005 .

David S. Lee, Tao Jiang, Jennifer Crocker, and Baldwin M. Way.Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.ahead of print http://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2021.0188

Jeanne J. Carter, Lenny R. Vartanian, Self-concept clarity and appearance-based social comparison to idealized bodies, Body Image, Volume 40, 2022, Pages 124-130, ISSN 1740-1445, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2021.12.001 .

Grant Hilary Brenner, M.D., a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, helps adults with mood and anxiety conditions, and works on many levels to help unleash their full capacities and live and love well.

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Lydia Polgreen

The Islamophobic Smear Campaign Dividing Democrats

By Lydia Polgreen

Opinion Columnist

On paper, President Biden’s nominee to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Adeel Abdullah Mangi, is an archetypical candidate for a federal judgeship. Mangi has a sterling legal education, which he followed with a distinguished career at a high-profile private firm mixing corporate litigation with important pro bono work. He also has a classic American story: He grew up in a poor country dreaming of a career as a lawyer and immigrated to the United States, where he ascended to the heights of his profession.

The candidate has another quality that was especially appealing to Biden, who has made diversifying the federal bench a key priority: Mangi would be the first Muslim American federal appellate judge in the United States.

When Mangi appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee in December for a hearing about this lifetime appointment, Republican senators did not ask him about his legal background or judicial philosophy. “Do you condemn the atrocities of Hamas terrorists?” Senator Ted Cruz of Texas demanded of Mangi, a Pakistani American with no connection to Hamas or Palestinians other than the fact that he is Muslim, along with 1.8 billion other people across the globe.

Such bad faith ambushes are Cruz’s stock in trade, especially since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas. So it was hardly a surprise that he and his Republican colleagues spent their allotted time insinuating that Mangi was an antisemite and an apologist not just for Hamas but also for the perpetrators of Sept. 11.

But what is much more worrying is that these tactics could work on some Senate Democrats. Right-wing judicial activists have been running a smear campaign against Mangi, including advertisements aimed at Senate Democrats like Jon Tester of Montana and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, who are battling for re-election. The campaigns describe Mangi, with no evidence, as an antisemite and attempt to link him to Hamas and other terrorist groups. This means that Democrats who run the risk of losing their seats come November may see defending Mangi’s nomination as a potential risk to their chances at re-election. The campaign seems to be working. Over the past few days, CNN and HuffPost have reported that there may not be enough Democratic votes to confirm Mangi.

This is an outrage. The attacks on Mangi are utterly disingenuous. Major Jewish organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League, have made statements of support for Mangi, whose pro bono legal work has focused in part on fighting for religious liberty and against religious bias across multiple faiths. The American Jewish Committee, which has joined several amicus briefs to the Supreme Court led by Mangi, described him as “a person of integrity, champion of pluralism and adversary of discrimination against any group.”

Abandoning Mangi’s nomination would be an unconscionable act at any time, but especially perilous for Democrats in the current political climate, when tens of thousands of Democratic primary voters in key states are expressing their outrage at Biden’s policy in Gaza by voting uncommitted. Meanwhile, the right is using the attacks on Oct. 7 and the ensuing war in Gaza as a means to imply that any Muslim could be pro-Hamas or antisemitic. If Democrats acquiesce, they will set a dangerous precedent.

Of course, the crucial background for the attacks on Mangi is the wave of Islamophobia that has swept the country over the past six months. The Council on American-Islamic Relations reported at the end of 2023 that it saw a 216 percent increase in reports of bias and requests for assistance from the previous year. A 6-year-old boy was stabbed to death in what investigators are calling a hate crime days after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, and three college students of Palestinian origin were shot in Burlington, Vt., last Thanksgiving weekend, stunning that small, progressive city.

But this goes beyond Islamophobia, as heinous as it is, and beyond Israel and Gaza. The basic ideals of the Democratic Party, including the moral and legal obligation to provide asylum to those fleeing persecution, seem up for grabs . On immigration more broadly, the party has acquiesced to right-wing talking points, failing to prevent or even helping the firm shove of the Overton window to the right. For all the Democratic talk about a freedom agenda , the party has not really seized religious liberty, one of Mangi’s core areas of pro bono work, as part of its vision of a pluralistic and inclusive society.

“By allowing the far right to frame Mangi’s historic nomination with bogus Islamophobic smears and divide-and-conquer Senate Democrats, we aren’t just losing a nominee; we’re surrendering the entire debate on our core values of multiracial democracy and religious freedom,” Waleed Shahid, a veteran Democratic operative who has helped spearhead the uncommitted movement, told me.

While the Democrats waver, it is clear what kind of America the Republican Party wants. Republican values were on full display at Mangi’s confirmation hearing. ​​Republican senators harangued Mangi for his tenuous links to a Rutgers Law School institute, accusing him of holding views espoused by speakers invited as panelists at the institute.

That institute, the Center for Security, Race and Rights , has indeed invited provocative speakers, in service of fostering dialogue on complex and sometimes difficult subjects. Even so, Mangi had no role in selecting such speakers or determining the programming at the institute. He repeatedly, with admirable patience, condemned terrorism and condemned any attempt to justify acts of terrorism.

In recent days, as his nomination seemed to be teetering, prominent Democrats spoke up in his defense.

“Adeel Mangi has faced a barrage of outrageous and unfounded smears because of his religious faith,” said Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, Mangi’s home state. “When we look at Mr. Mangi’s record — the totality of his professional life, his commitment to religious freedom and civil rights, his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee — it only reinforces his commitment to upholding and advancing the fundamental values we all hold as Americans.”

The Biden administration is speaking out to urge Mangi’s confirmation without delay, calling him “an extraordinarily qualified nominee who is devoted to the rule of law, lived the American dream through hard work, proven his integrity and would make history on the bench,” Andrew Bates, a White House spokesman, told me, warning that “no senator should cave to hateful, undignified lies.”

If Senate Democrats backpedal in response to the right-wing smear campaign against Mangi, they squander a perfect opportunity to demonstrate the stark difference between their party and the G.O.P. at a time when some Democrats have become deeply disillusioned with their party’s ceding of ground to the right.

As the presidential election grinds on, it is clear that racism and Islamophobia lie at the core of the Republican Party’s revanchist campaign. Donald Trump, echoing fascist leaders throughout history, has declared that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country,” and when offered the opportunity to walk back or soften this inflammatory phrase by Fox News’s Howard Kurtz recently, Trump instead doubled down . “Why do you use words like ‘vermin’ and ‘poisoning of the blood’?” Kurtz asked. “Because our country is being poisoned,” Trump replied.

What better retort is there to this vicious notion than the formidable accomplishments of Adeel Mangi? He is an exemplar of how immigration has made the United States a stronger, richer, more powerful nation. He was drawn to the United States and the law by watching “Matlock” as a child in Karachi, Pakistan. In his pro bono legal work he represents another venerable American tradition: a devotion to protecting the freedom of all Americans to peacefully practice their faiths without interference, prejudice or coercion from the state, a notion the right has sought to upend .

I would ask any Democrat considering voting against this nominee this question: What vision of America do you actually believe in, if not the one exemplified by the life and work of a man like Adeel Mangi? Republicans have been very clear about who they are and what kind of future they imagine for our country. Confirming this nominee without delay would offer a powerful and necessary contrast to that dark vision and an opportunity for Democrats to tell us which America they stand for.

Source photograph by Graeme Sloan/Sipa, via Associated Press.

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Lydia Polgreen is an Opinion columnist and a co-host of the “ Matter of Opinion ” podcast for The Times.