Australia least body confident country reveals world’s largest study into body positivity

Beach ready: Positive body image might have more to do with where you live, rather than what you look like suggests study. Photo / Getty Images, Diamond Dogs

Despite its popular image as an easy-going, beach-loving destination - Australia has been named as the world’s most body-conscious nation.

A new global study into body positivity, thought to be the largest of its kind ever undertaken, has laid bare the attitudes to our own bodies and how perceptions of beauty change around the world.

Body Appreciation Around the World: Measurement Invariance of the Body Appreciation from the Anglia Ruskin University has peered under the covers at the attitudes towards “body appreciation” in 65 countries.

Among the more surprising things uncovered by the study, was that countries that spend the most time at the beach had no bearing on body positivity.

Malta was named as the most body-confident country in the world whereas Australians were most self-conscious. On the face of it, both are inhabited by beach bods.

However, lead author professor Viren Swami said there were a variety of factors that could pre-determine how at ease respondents felt, within their own skin. How built up an environment respondents inhabited and even the language they spoke had a much bigger impact on positive body attitudes.

Body confidence was found to be higher in single respondents, versus those in committed relationships, and respondents who lived in rural communities.

Swami said that not only is your home country closely associated with body positivity, but the location you lived within it.

“People who live in urban areas may feel stronger pressure to conform to body ideals promoted by Western society,” he said.

While the study did not expose one type of “conventional beauty” - you were more likely to feel at ease in your own skin if you lived in a rural community. This supported research that already suggested there was a “benefit from being in nature” linked with self-body appreciation.

Led by researchers from Anglia Ruskin University, and collecting data from over 250 scientists across the globe, Swami said it was one of the most in-depth studies of its kind.

The language you speak might also be a factor in your perceived body image. English speakers were more likely to be self-conscious of body image. Whereas Nepali, Tagalog, and Bulgarian speakers were happy, just the way they were.

“It is also notable that people from countries considered culturally different to the United States appeared to have broadly greater body appreciation,” said Swami.

Positive self-image was linked to positive well-being traits such as improved self-esteem and healthy eating habits. Whereas a low level of “body appreciation” was linked to anxiety and depression.

“Our finding that greater body appreciation is associated with better psychological well-being highlights the importance of developing ways to promote more positive body image globally,” said Swarma.

Comparing 65 countries, standardised against the university’s study in the UK, it was found that only India and Australia had a lower body appreciation than Brits.

New Zealand was not represented within the sample size.

Malta scored highest, followed by Taiwan and Bangladesh.

10 most body-confident countries

Malta

Taiwan

Bangladesh

Kazakhstan

South Korea

Philippines

Egypt

Iraq

Poland

South Africa

10 least body confident countries

Australia

India

UK

Ireland

Ukraine

Germany

USA

China

France

Brazil

Source: Anglia Ruskin University