ABSTRACT
The ability of a person to enjoy life, form good relationships and make the most of opportunities can be directly affected by their body image. Many studies show that looking at pictures of slim, beautiful models has a negative impact on body image. An extreme disorder of body image is known as body dysmorphic disorder. A young person is thought to be exposed to more images of physical perfection in one day than their great grandmother would have seen throughout her entire adolescence. Men with a negative body image worry about their weight, body shape and muscle definition. There are unclear statistics on body image amongst ethnic groups in Britain. Body image is clearly having an adverse effect on millions of people’s mental wellbeing. Body image dissatisfaction is widespread as increasing numbers of both men and women report feeling anxious and unhappy about their physical appearance.
