What Women Really Think About Their Bodies

Yahoo Health
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(Photo: Stocksy)

On today’s show I chat with Editor-in-Chief Michele Promaulayko, of Yahoo! Health on a topic many of my viewers battle frequently: body confidence. Promaulayko’s team found some groundbreaking results on a recent survey they did in order to uncover the truth on what women really think of their bodies. In the team’s research, they found that only one in seven women love their body, more than half of women have negative thoughts toward their body, and on average, women experience 13 negative thoughts about their body each day.

While these statistics may or may not surprise you, here’s some more interesting tidbits I took away from Yahoo! Health’s research:

  • Americans become self-conscious about their bodies start at age 13. However, those who have a mom (or other authoritative figure) who is not self-critical about their own body makes them nearly 40 percent more likely to be body positive or at the very least, body neutral, proving that the most important way to set an example is to love and accept yourself first.

  • Peak body positivity happens for women between the ages of 35 to 54 years old, though only for about 13 percent of women.

  • It takes women half their lives to achieve just half of the level of body positivity as the average teenage male.

  • Not surprisingly social media often plays a big part: 41 percent of female teens and 54 percent of millennial females say that social media is a major contributor to their body shame.

Related: The Shocking Results of Yahoo Health’s Body-Positivity Survey

On the other side of this study, 24 percent of American men reported that their ideal body type is the “dad bod,” commonly referred to as a body with muscle underneath a layer of fat. This proves that the way men and women think of their bodies could not be more different.

These findings are exactly why the Yahoo! Health team made this month its Body-Peace Resolution month in an effort to change the way women think of their bodies, creating wellness goals that aren’t centered around weight loss but instead mental strength, self-acceptance, and more. I love this idea and think it’s time for women everywhere to reshape the conversation about their bodies. If not for yourself, for younger generations that follow who will see how you treat and think about your body and will follow suit.

Related: Why You Don’t Have to Love Your Body

Make sure to tune in today for tips to rethink the way you’re thinking about your body, and remember that the best way to shift your outlook is to eat well and move more. Don’t take it just from me – according to the study 40 percent of body positive people attribute their healthy mindset to doing these two things every day!

This article originally appeared on DoctorOz.com.

Dr. Mehmet Oz is the host of the six-time Daytime Emmy Award-winning The Dr. Oz Show and is Professor of Surgery at Columbia University.

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