Many people with eating disorders die from suicide. Improving perception of internal body states, or interoception, can help everyone better care for their own bodies.
For many, the pandemic has disrupted daily habits around eating and fitness – which makes it a prime time to shake up old assumptions about achieving an ideal body.
Ample research demonstrates the harms Instagram causes teen girls, especially around body image. Meta is now facing the consequences of knowingly marketing a harmful service.
One in three Australians we surveyed had a new concern about their appearance since the pandemic began. But while minor cosmetic procedures might give some people a boost, for others it’s a bad idea.
After over a year of stress eating and seeing each other only through screens, anxiety over changes in physical appearance can make socializing again a daunting prospect.
Social media and changing ideas about masculinity are making more and more young men believe their body is too small, skinny or insufficiently muscular.
Men are feeling more and more pressure to get rid of their love handles and beer bellies – and heavy promotion of unrealistic appearance standards are to blame.
The proposal is very different to schemes in the US where BMI report cards are sent to parents. Instead, the data would feed into obesity research and prevention programs.
People with facial difference often develop strategies for smoothing over social awkwardness, such as ways of introducing the issue into conversation early or using humour to deflect attention.