Activity 3: Body image

What is body image? Body image refers to a person’s perception of their body. It’s how a person feels about their body and how they think they look. A person might have a positive or negative perception of their body image.

Your task You have two copies of the worksheet. On one worksheet, annotate the images with positive words that young people might use to describe their body. On the other worksheet, annotate the images with negative words that young people might use to describe their body.

Young people’s perception of body image Young people’s perception of their body image can often be negative: I’m tall I’m ugly I’ve got fuzzy hair I’m short I’ve got short legs I’m spotty I’ve got no muscles I’ve got a big nose

Young people’s perception of body image Young people’s perception of body image can also be very different to what other people see:

What influences young people’s attitudes?

How do you think it makes young people feel about their own bodies when they see these images in the media?

What influences young people’s attitudes? All the images of celebrities and models that we see in the media can negatively influence young people’s attitudes towards their own body image. However, many images that you see in magazines and on the TV are not realistic as they have been changed to make people look flaw free! These false images can often make people feel bad about their own body image. But it is important to remember that in reality, people come in ALL shapes and sizes!

Feeling good By keeping fit and healthy it can help you to look and feel good. A healthy body really can lead to a healthy mind. When you don’t look after your body, not only can it make you feel down, but it can lead to lots of other health risks and problems, such as bad skin, problems with growth, lack of energy, heart problems etc.