The number of naturists in the UK has doubled in a decade, according to a new study by Ipsos, commissioned by British Naturism. The survey found that 14% of of people in the UK - equating to 6.75million people - describe themselves as naturists or nudists.
A similar poll conducted in 2011 found the figure was 6%.
Dr Mark Bass, President of British Naturism, said: "Attitudes to nudity are changing with taboos and stigma being eroded. Modern society is weighed down by a body confidence crisis and more and more people are discovering the benefits that nudity brings to mental, emotional and physical health by allowing us to reclaim ownership of our identities.
"When we spend time naked with others we realise that we all have scars and flaws, and that we don’t need to compare ourselves with an airbrushed model. Naturism gives us the freedom to be ourselves and have a lot of fun."
The results are based on a representative sample of 2,249 people, equally divided between men and women, and evenly spread among age groups from 16 to 75.
Skinny-dipping in particular is very popular, with 21% of respondents saying they’ve swum without a costume before.
The survey also found
- 39% of adults have taken part in nude recreation such as skinny dipping, sunbathing or visiting a naturist beach.
- Respondents were asked on how many occasions, if any, they had been naked in the company of people, including videoconferencing. Over 1 in 5 respondents (22%) said they have done this on at least one occasion in the past 12 months.
- Participation appears to be higher among young adults than older people, with almost half (47%) of 16-24 year-old respondents having done this at least once in the past 12 months compared with 6% of respondents aged 45 – 75.
