I’m glad this is being looked into, finally! I’m 19 years old, and have suffered from Body Dysmorphic Disorder since I was around 13. I literally had nobody to turn in regards to help and support in school, and around me in general. I find that discussing mental health issues (depression, anxiety, distorted body image etc) is still such a taboo in this country, people are so afraid to speak up about them!
Exciting P.E curriculums would be highly beneficial in schools, dance should be taught instead of doing 10 laps of a hall, for example. Schools should have support groups and qualified guidance counsellors to help students if they’re in need of help. Students should be informed of mental health issues and positive body image all through secondary school – not just reading some words off a page, for a day or two. Bring speakers in to talk to students, show them documentaries about it. Inform the youth!

I remember feeling awful as a teenager and glad to see this being highlighted.

This really isn’t surprising – there are so many adverts ect out today that focus on targeting obesity but they promote image over health when they discuss this. i.e. how large is your waist rather than how much exercise you do – I really dislike that waist measurement advert that says you’re obese if you’re over a certain measurement – while this may be true in some context I know guys who are very active and have a lot of muscle but according to this they’re overweight. I was also shocked to find my 9 year old sister measuring her waist after watching the ad and wondering if she was overweight?

What is wrong with this country – image and dress size shouldn’t come into it – I know size 8 people who smoke and live off chocolate but somehow their viewed as healthier than a size 14 women who exercises regularly and eats a healthy balanced diet. We’ve become obsessed with dieting and how we look – being healthy is NOT about the size of your waist.

Yes we need to educate children in school and their parents on healthy foods but not from an image focused angle. What is really vital is promoting exercise – making PE compulsory in schools at all levels and making it fun and non-competitive so that all children enjoy it – the focus needs to be on keeping fit – keeping you’re heart healthy – we really need to break this tie with image being the epitome of health – if we don’t we are only creating a generation of children who will have a poor body image and therefore a negative relationship towards food which will cause both over and under eating problems!

My 13 yr old niece is a size 6 and thinks she looks big….she’s like a stick. My 6 yr old daughter who is extremely underweight told me that her belly is fat. It’s scary to see kids this young with issues about their bodies!!!!

Intrigued that so many yooung people have a “negative body image”. Do they think they occupy a vacuum in space? Or could they mean young people who don’t think that they’re good looking?
Not to take away from the suffering of those with Body Dysmorphic Disorder, it’s fairly common for teenagers to be unhappy about how they look and to feel anxious that they’re unattactive. It’s normal to feel self-conscious and to well, wonder if you’re normal.
I think we need to tread carefully here. There’s a lot of info going into schools about “positive body image”. If we give young people, especially girls, the idea that being unhappy about how you look is abnormal and a precursor of mental illness, then that’s a slippery slope indeed and is likely to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.