How to rise above the body ideal: What can we learn from body confidence trailblazers?

The UK government’s Body Image Inquiry points out that over 60% of adults feel unhappy with the way they look and an estimated 1.25 million people in the UK have an eating disorder. This is a growing issue with severe consequences. 

It’s not hard to see the source of the problem: both social and traditional media are full of curated and edited images that promote unrealistic body and beauty ideals. Conversations, overheard comments, and judgemental looks on the street can all add to the message that bodies should look a certain way or that we do not live up to those standards. The resulting negative body image is well-established as contributing to poor well-being and mental health.  

But are these effects unavoidable? Research from the University of Surrey has looked into ways in which some people are less affected by, or more resilient to, content or messages about body image ideals. Here are three strategies identified by our research, rated by effectiveness.

1. #I’m size 0, honest

Some people may try to convince themselves and others that their body matches the idealised standards. This is known as self-presentation, and we all do this to an extent. For example, it’s common to self-report a slightly taller height and lower weight than the scales show. However, if people know these details will later be checked, they are more likely to report them accurately. But does everyone do it?

In our research, a particular group of people – those high in the personality trait of narcissism – still under-reported their weight even if they knew it would be checked. Narcissism is a normal personality trait that can be found in any social group, which involves a high need to feel good about the self. We found that narcissists prioritise appearing good even when faced with evidence to the contrary. Never let the truth get in the way of a good story – in this case about their weight.

So, narcissists may be able to keep feeling good about themselves when thinking about body ideals. But this strategy still reinforces the ideal that thin is good. 

2/10 Not the healthiest answer!

2. #Laughter is the best medicine

Some people might use humour to deflect or challenge idealised standards. But which types of humour are actually helpful? Our research on British women found that the healthiest humour style is self-enhancing humour, which involves finding the funny side of a situation to make yourself feel better – people who use this style tend to have the most positive body image. 

On the other hand, people who tend to use self-defeating humour and make self-deprecating jokes at their own expense tend to be dissatisfied with their bodies and want to be thinner.  Still, any humour is better than none – people who lacked a sense of humour overall also reported fairly negative body image. 

So, if you can laugh at the situation, preferably without putting yourself as the butt of the joke, that might help to weaken the thin ideal. 

6/10 Can work if administered the right way!

3. #There’s more to life than weight

Some people succeed in feeling fabulous about themselves while living in a bigger body, despite the prevailing ideals and stigma they face. What are the secrets of these body confident champions and what can we learn from them? 

Our research interviewed body confident people with overweight or obesity and found that they used self-affirmation – they accept their body as it is and focus on their other values or strengths (like relationships or career ambitions). They emphasise that there is more to life than weight. 

When they had stigmatising experiences, our body confident ambassadors dealt with them by fighting back – they felt able to defend their right to be in a bigger body, avoid unhelpful messages or stand up for themselves against judgemental comments. However, some felt safer in walking away or even avoiding certain family members. So people may need support from friends or family to gain enough confidence before they can advocate for themselves.

8/10 Body image goals! 

Summary: Which strategies should we encourage?

Different individuals use different ways of protecting their body image from the constant tide of idealised messages and imagery. Our research suggests that some of these may be more effective than others. Although more evidence is needed on the long-term consequences, for now it seems that positive humour and self-affirmation are the healthiest strategies to adopt.

So, try to remember that you are so much more than your weight or size – and if you can laugh at the idiocy of unrealistic body ideals then all the better!

This fits with recent recommendations to focus on a ‘health at every size’ message instead of relying on BMI as an indicator of health or value. It also supports the idea of body functionality – focusing on what your body can do rather than what it looks like. 

Of course, the million-dollar question is how we can help more people – especially young people – to use these approaches. That’s the next aim of our research at the University of Surrey. 

One possibility is to harness the power of social networks. Evidence already suggests that once people start adopting those attitudes, they can spread across friendship groups. Similarly, it’s possible to curate a healthier social media feed. As well as unfollowing accounts that promote body ideals, there is growing evidence that some online content can be helpful in challenging and breaking them down (Blog 1). Some useful body-neutrality and humorous influencers are recommended by bloggers.

The more we can help people to develop positive, affirming and size-unrelated body beliefs, the more we can gradually break down the toxic culture of “one (extra-small)-size-fits-all” body ideals. Now, that would be #Lifegoals indeed. 

References

Dibb, B., Hepper, E. G., Stewart, S-J., Price, M., & Wilkinson, L. L. (2025). Strategies for maintaining a positive body image in the face of stigma. Journal of Health Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1177/13591053251330433

Fasoli, F., Ogden, J., & Johnson, S. (2022). The relationship between humor and women’s body image concerns and eating behaviors. Humor, 35(4), 531-552. https://doi.org/10.1515/humor-2022-0028 

Price, M., Douglas, L., Hepper, E. G., & Wilkinson, L. L. (2024). Understanding the underestimation of self-report weight: The roles of narcissism and accountability. PLOS One, 19(12), e0312691. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0312691 

Body Image Resilience in Guidance, Health, and Teaching (BRIGHT)