Women worry about how they look eight times a day

The average woman criticises her appearance at least eight times a day, research by nationwide campaign WomanKind has found.

Of the 2,000 women surveyed, almost half admitted to criticising themselves at least once before 9:30am and 60% confessed to having days where they felt like they criticised themselves constantly throughout the day. A further 42% said they never compliment themselves.

Research revealed that bursts of self-criticism happen most when looking in the mirror or when out clothes shopping and image-based criticisms were cited as the most common, with many of those surveyed wanting to lose weight.

The top five ways a woman criticises herself are:

  1. You’re too fat/overweight
  2. Your hair is a mess
  3. Your belly looks big
  4. You don’t do enough exercise
  5. Feeling scruffy next to other women.

Researchers believe the popularity of selfies and photo-led social media platforms like Instagram are to blame, with women constantly bombarded with images of perfection.

“Today's hectic and visually driven world has meant that we're seeing a rise in women being self-critical, from the way they look to the way they feel at work,” said Zoe Griffiths, head of public health and programme at Weight Watchers, which conducted the survey. 

WomanKind is a campaign that explores why modern women are unkind to themselves and how they can counter the habit.