about us
This is Your Body exists to help teens build a joyful relationship with food and their bodies.
meet Gel
she’s been through it too
My name is Angelica, but please call me Gel. It’s so nice to meet you!
I started This is Your Body because of my own personal struggles around my relationship with food and my body. In my late teen years and early twenties I was very unwell and realised something had to change after I had neglected my health and wellbeing to chase unattainable physical goals.
My road to recovery, in addition to my studies in health and nutrition have helped me understand where the belief that changing our body can make us happy comes from. I learnt that our weight is not a metric of our health or our happiness. Our health is about so much more than the food we eat and the exercise we do. Nutrition is a fabulous way to nourish our body, yes, but it doesn’t have to involve dieting or restriction. It can be fun, creative and a way to connect with the people that we love.
why we care so much
We’ve had the joy and privilege of working with thousands of teens to support them with their body image, mental health, and nutrition since we started in 2020. Something that has remained consistent across that time is that young people aren’t alone in their struggles, but many think that they are. They don’t realise how prolific issues surrounding mental health and body image are in young people, and often lack the tools and knowledge to support themselves and the people they love. Did you know:
Nearly two thirds of young people say they feel lonely or left out often or some of the time.
More than 95% of young people report some level of body image concern.
77% of young Australians experience body image distress.
78% of young people wish they were leaner.
71% of young people wished they were more muscular.
Statistics sourced from: Butterfly Foundation (2024), 2023 Body Kind Youth Survey; Headspace (2022), two thirds of young people feel lonely.
your teens don’t have to do it alone
We don’t want any young person who is struggling with their mental health to go down the road of isolation, deprivation and feelings of unworthiness. We hope that by doing this work with young people that we can help them feel seen and provide them with the support they might need to reframe how they view their body. We want to encourage them to move away from judgement and restriction and leap into body acceptance, appreciation and celebration.
who we’ve worked with
school workshops
This is Your Body offers engaging, joyful and evidence-based presentations and workshops designed to educate teens about nutrition, body image, mental health, and wellbeing.