Three in ten women felt uncomfortable about their appearance before they had reached the tender age of 16, according to research. A poll of 2,000 females found their weight, body shape, and dress size, are the main things to affect body confidence.
Comments made about their appearance at school (28 percent), and comparing themselves to friends in real life (26 percent), negatively impact the way women feel from an early age.
And strangers (14 percent) and siblings (10 percent) are the most likely people to make them feel the most self-conscious.
As women get older, factors such as grey hairs, wrinkles, and drooping breasts lead to a lack of love for their body – and one in ten even feel that incontinence leads to low self-esteem.
And 21 percent are simply self-conscious about their age in general.
Lisa Snowdon, who is working with TENA, which commissioned the research, has spoken of how she didn’t find her stride until she was 50.
She said: “Over the years, when I think back to the bullying at school and some of the negative comments and abusive relationships, I needed to dig deep and find my own sense of self-worth, and push all that negativity away.”
TENA spokeswoman, Nancy Sadler, said: “It’s common to have body hang-ups, but it’s a shame to see these concerns start at such a young age.
“Weight and ageing are the most common concerns, but they are all such natural processes.
“We all grow older and experience a lower metabolism, wrinkles, and even incontinence, so it’s nothing we should be embarrassed about.”
The research also found only 24 percent currently feel “very” confident about their appearance.
A third inherited concerns about the way they look from their guardians as they were growing up – after overhearing their views on their own body hang-ups.
And 35 percent think their parents could have done a better job at helping them understand body image as a child.
But 64 percent believe having a bad relationship with the way they look impacts their mental health, while 55 percent believe it affects their romantic relationships.
The times women feel worst about their appearance are when they see themselves in photos (44 percent), and when they look in the mirror (35 percent).
And 33 percent feel least attractive when they are trying on clothes.
But the study, carried out via OnePoll, found 62 percent believe that, as a woman, they are expected to live up to an unrealistic beauty ideal.
Nancy Sadler added: “Children are highly impressionable, and are constantly learning from superiors – so if they are hearing other people’s body concerns, it’s no surprise it impacts their own as they get older.
“There are a lot of unrealistic expectations women are expected to live up to, but it seems unfair there is such a negative stigma surrounding the female body.”
