A new survey of more than 1,300 respondents has found 84% find it harder to speak kindly or positively about their own body or appearance than someone else’s, highlighting how normalised negative body talk can become in everyday life. Experts are sounding the alarm that this likely reflects poor body image, which can have serious consequences for mental and physical health, as well as how people show up in the world. Released as part of Butterfly’s BodyKind August, the findings point to the need for greater body image support in the everyday places young people live, learn and participate, including schools, sporting clubs and at home. The research found that two in three respondents are often or always more critical of their own appearance or body than they are of a friend’s or loved one’s, suggesting many people hold themselves to a harsher standard than they would ever apply to someone they care about. Unhelpful talk about appearances is also common across everyday environments. More than six in ten respondents said they had heard comments about someone else’s appearance in the past month that felt unhelpful or unkind. One in three said they had personally heard comments about their own appearance that felt unhelpful or unkind, most commonly among family, at home and in the workplace.

“Talking kindly about other people’s bodies is so much easier than speaking about your own,” Isabella Charon, a 22-year-old lived experience advocate from Kellyville, Sydney commented. “I know when I look at my friends, I value them for so much more than their body or appearance, and I would never comment negatively about their body. But we don’t apply that same treatment to ourselves. If I had known how to be kinder to my own body growing up, it could have prevented a lot of struggles and hardships,”. 

The findings also show how feelings about our bodies can impact daily life. More than half of respondents said they had skipped meals because of how they feel about their body, while more than four in ten said they had skipped physical exercise. More than four in ten also said feelings about their body had stopped them from going to the beach or pool quite a bit or all the time, while around one in three said the same of shopping for clothes, pursuing a romantic relationship, and doing physical activity or sport. At the same time, while many parents and guardians felt at least somewhat confident supporting a child with negative thoughts about their body or appearance,  many were less certain about where to turn for help. Almost half said they either would not know, or were unsure, where to seek support or how to help a child experiencing body image concerns or an eating disorder. The findings come as Butterfly Foundation encourages schools, families, and sporting clubs to register for BodyKind August, a free annual initiative designed to help communities create kinder body image environments for young people.

“Most people know that they would never say to a friend the unkind things they say to themselves. But negative body talk has become so normalised that it can influence how people eat, move, socialise and participate in everyday life,” Helen Bird, Head of Prevention at Butterfly commented “Being kinder to our own bodies is about building small, simple actions into everyday life. Working to change that nagging and judgmental inner voice to a more compassionate and kinder one is a great starting point, benefiting ourselves and the young people around us. Butterfly’s BodyKind August is all about sharing those practical strategies with the adults in young people’s lives – at home, school or in sport – so the places they live, learn and play are kinder for all bodies.”

There is strong community support for doing more to support body image in young people. Nearly three-quarters of respondents to the latest survey agreed that eating disorder prevention should be mandatory in secondary schools, and similar proportions agreed that schools and sporting clubs had a vital role to play in supporting student body image. Through the BodyKind program, Butterfly Foundation is providing free, evidence-informed resources for schools, families and sporting clubs, including curriculum-aligned lesson plans, tip sheets, activities, digital assets and webinars designed to support positive body image and help prevent body dissatisfaction and eating disorders.