Charlie King pictured arriving at the hayu exclusive preview screening for season 9 of Below Deck at Sea Containers
(Picture: PA)TV reality star and influencer Charlie King is to give evidence to MPs on his experience of cosmetic procedures and the body image pressures of working in the fitness industry.
He will appear before the Commons Health and Social Care Committee which is carrying out an inquiry into the impact of body image on mental and physical health.
King, who found fame when he starred in The Only Way Is Essex back in 2012, documented his struggle with body dysmorphia.
He told Channel 4 chat show Steph’s Packed Lunch: “I can’t keep living in this cycle of not liking myself or being negative about myself when people come to me for inspiration. I want to try and be happy and it’s just been a constant flow of bad things happening and I want to try and take control.”
Health Minister Gillian Keegan will also face questions in the final session of the committee’s inquiry next Tuesday.
It is focusing on the powers in the new Health and Care Act which allow the Government to introduce a licensing regime for non-surgical cosmetic procedures, such as Botox.
The session will also consider current government strategies to tackle obesity and the effectiveness of public messaging.
MPs have already heard about how stigmatising language can have a damaging impact on health.
The committee will also discuss the results of a survey it commissioned on the impact of body image on mental and physical health.
Tam Fry, head spokesperson for the National Obesity Forum, Dr Angela Meadows, lecturer at the Department of Psychology, University of Essex, and Helen James, founder of Nutriri, a social enterprise advocating body positivity and a weight-neutral approach, will also give evidence to the MPs.
The inquiry has already heard from Vamps’ guitarist James Brittain-McVey on his difficulties with body image, model and activist Nyome Nicholas-Williams and influencer Alex Light.
