we need to talk about the body kind youth survey
I woke up in a beautiful headspace last Tuesday morning, I was still smiling from the night before. On Monday night, I had presented to four boys teams at the Essendon Royals Football Club and was feeling so grateful for their kindness, curiosity and interest in what I was sharing. I loved watching them attentively listen as I spoke about body image in young men, sports nutrition, and shifting our mindset from being weight focussed to health focussed. It felt like I had made a difference and taught them something of value that would hopefully support them in appreciating and celebrating their body long-term.
This feeling of warmth and gratitude left my body when I opened Instagram. I was in bed and decided to have a quick scroll before I got up…yes, I know that is not the best way to start the day. A friend of mine who works in the health industry, like me, had shared a post to her Instagram story that broke my heart. The post detailed the findings from the first ever Body Kind Youth Survey.
The Body Kind Youth Survey was conducted in late 2022 by the Butterfly Foundation, Australia’s national charity for all Australians impacted by eating disorders and body image issues. The Butterfly Foundation invited Australian young people aged 12 to 18 years to explore their experiences of body satisfaction. According to the report they published, they focussed on:
The impact that known key body image influences have on them
Understanding the link between the way a young person feels about their body and the impact that has on their day to day choices.
The way that they practice kindness towards their body.
As I read through the initial post and then the detailed report, I realised that this issue is so much larger than I had anticipated. I was disappointed that things have got worse for young people. I was saddened that there are other young people that are having a similar experience that I did in my teenage years and early twenties.
It has taken me a long time to repair my relationship with food and my body. When I was at school, I was on diet shakes, cutting out foods I enjoyed, checking my body in the mirror, saying unkind things to my body, and self-conscious of the way my body looked. I know now that I wasn’t alone in that experience, but at the time I didn’t speak to anyone about it. I was too embarrassed.
Year 11 dance - 16 years old
Knowing how alone I felt with this issue as a young person, I intentionally spend a few moments at the start of each of my body image presentations going through the statistics. The statistics I had in there were already awful, but did help the young people in the room realise that if they are struggling they are not alone. Now I have to update my statistics in the worst possible way. Things haven’t got better, they have got worse.
I am not going to pull out all the statistics from the Body Kind Youth Survey in this post, but I do want to highlight a few that hit me quite hard:
More than 90% of young people reported some level of body image concern
1 in 3 kids are either very or extremely concerned about their body image
50% of kids rarely speak positively about their body
62% of young people wish they were thinner
64% of kids wish they were more muscular
50% of young people said their body image had stopped them from raising their hand in class.
Poor body image is holding our young people from going to the beach, clothes shopping, participating in sports, sharing their opinion, and standing up for themselves. The thing that all these things have in common, is that poor body image holds young people back from connection. It is keeping them more isolated. It is keeping them scrolling. It is preventing them from stepping out into the world and trying new things, which could ultimately be the things that bring them joy and a feeling of body appreciation.
The message I really want to send to young people, and the people in their lives, is the importance of body celebration. What is body celebration you might ask? Body celebration is about intentionally setting aside time to fully embrace your body as it is today. There are endless ways to do this (and they definitely don’t have to be ridiculously active or involve going outside). Research shows that the activities that promote the most body acceptance are those that integrate the mind and body – this includes things like playing a sport, learning a musical instrument, painting, cooking, and dancing.
For me, cooking is one of my favourite hobbies. I love learning how to cook and prepare new foods and sharing that with my family. It is particularly special when I get to do this with my nonna because she does everything by hand. Over Easter, I had the important job of making the dough for the 15 cakes and all the biscuits we were making. I tell you, standing over a table that is way too low for four hours will give you real appreciation for your shoulders and back.
Here are some of the ways I like to celebrate my body, I hope there is one on there that inspires you to try this week:
Colouring
Swimming
Kicking around a ball
Pilates
Walking
Having a gelati
Cooking
If you follow me on Instagram (@thisisyourbody_nutrition) you will see that I share fun ways to do this most weeks. I also have a section on my daily calendar dedicated to body celebration. Each day I do something intentionally to celebrate the body I am in. Sometimes it’s a long walk, some nights its painting and some days where it is simply taking five deep breaths in and out. It doesn’t have to be big, it is just something small that makes you feel present and proud of the body you’re in.
We have a long way to go, but I do have hope. The increased awareness is hopefully going to start the conversation in homes and schools so that young people can be provided with more education and strategies of how to navigate the challenges they might be facing. At the very least, I hope that this information helps young people feel less alone. I hope that they know that there are people out there that are going through something similar and that there are people and organisations out there to support them if they need it.
With hope,
Gel xo
full report
Here is the link to the full report if you would like to have a read for yourself – https://butterfly.org.au/get-involved/campaigns/youthsurveyfindings/
references
Butterfly Foundation. (2023). Body Kind Youth Survey. https://butterfly.org.au/get-involved/campaigns/youthsurveyfindings/
Kite, L. Kite, L. (2021). more than a body. New York, United States of America: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
