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 ugly
I’ve got a big nose
I’m spotty
I’ve got short legs
I’ve got fuzzy hair
I’m short
I’m tall
I’ve got no muscles
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.