Almost 10 Million UK Women ‘Feel Depressed’ Over Their Looks

About one in four women in the UK feel that their bodies have held them back from fulfilling relationships, according to new research.

Nearly 10 million women also report that they feel depressed because of the way they look, and another quarter say that their body image anxiety has kept them from going after a career change or job.

The study also suggests that a total of 10.2 million British women don’t participate in exercise because of “body anxiety.”

Out of the 2,339 women involved in the survey, a quarter said they skip meals to lose weight, too.

‘Be Real’

The research comes from Be Real, an organization that was founded in 2012 after a parliament report was released on the need for body image changes.

“Low body confidence is a critical public health issue that we cannot ignore. It affects everyone – all ages, both sexes – and starts as young as five years old,” said Caroline Nokes MP, chair of the APPG for Body Image.

Be Real’s research also claims that one in seven people have considered cosmetic surgery and almost one-fifth of 18-24 year olds are taking muscle building supplements to improve their looks.

The organization has partnered with Dove and is sponsored by the YMCA, Facebook, bareMinerals, among others.

“Through this campaign, we’re driving change through three priority areas,” Nokes said. “We want to ensure children and young people are educated about body confidence from an early age, to promote healthy living and well-being over weight loss and appearance, and to encourage the media, business and advertisers to recognize diversity and positively reflect what we really look like.”

Source: Be Real