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:
- You’re too fat/overweight
- Your hair is a mess
- Your belly looks big
- You don’t do enough exercise
- 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.
