Only a quarter of women (24%) currently feel “very” confident about their appearance – with weight, body shape, and dress size the top things affecting how they feel about their body.
One in five (21%) are self-conscious about their age – with natural parts of the ageing process, such as wrinkles and grey hair, also negatively impacting their self-esteem.
And a third, of the 2,000 women polled, feel least confident when trying on clothes, while 35% feel at their worst when looking in the mirror.
The research found that three in ten began experiencing negative feelings about their appearance before the age of 16 – with 28% having comments made about them at school.
And 26% were guilty of comparing themselves to friends from a young age – while 10% said their siblings made them feel the most self-conscious, and 14% said the same of strangers.
TV and radio presenter, 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 that one in three of those polled 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% think their parents could have done a better job at helping them understand body image as a child.
Nearly two-thirds (64%) believe having a bad relationship with the way they look impacts their mental health, while 55% believe it affects their romantic relationships.
But the study, carried out via OnePoll, found 62% 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.”
TOP 20 THINGS TO NEGATIVELY AFFECT BODY CONFIDENCE:
- Weight
- Body shape
- Dress size/clothing size
- Age
- Teeth/a dental condition
- Fitness
- Wrinkles
- Grey hairs
- How you look in certain outfits
- Skin
- Drooping breasts
- Hairstyle
- Visible cellulite
- Stretch marks
- What you wear
- Feet
- Eyebrows
- Hands
- Nails
- A specific skin condition
