Low beauty confidence drives eight in ten girls to opt out of future opportunities, says Dove report

More than 50% of girls are reported to be missing out on important opportunities in life because of body esteem issues, finds a global report of Dove.

Titled 'The 2017 Dove Global Girls Beauty and Confidence Report', Dove interviewed 5,165 girls aged between ten and 17 across 14 countries. The report finds that body esteem can impact a girl's confidence, resilience, and life satisfaction.

Low body esteem is more likely to cause girls to succumb to pressures on beauty and appearance and even withdraw from fundamental life-building activities.

Worldwide, 55% of respondents said they would not be likely to spend time with friends and family, participate in activities outside the house, or try out for a team or club if they were not happy with the way they look. This figure grew to 80% for girls with low body esteem, and dropped to 41% for girls with high body esteem.

University of the West of England Centre for Appearance Research associate professor Phillippa Diedrichs said: "These findings indicate that, despite valiant efforts, body image remains a global issue for girls.

"We still have an enormous amount of work to do in helping girls develop the resilience they need to overcome the impact of beauty and appearance pressures. We also need to change the social and cultural environment so that girls are not judged on their looks, and are not held back from getting a seat at whatever table they want, be it in the boardroom or in parliament, because of body image concerns."

Although girls perceive the media's role in driving beauty ideals that are unattainable, only those with high body esteem are able to respond to these pressures. Further, 70% of girls said too much importance is being placed on beauty as a source of happiness, and 68% hoped the media could portray women of diverse physical attractiveness, age, ethnicity, shape, and size.

Dove Masterbrand global vice-president Sophie Galvani said: "It is hopeful to see girls are aware and taking their own steps to create change, but they can't do it alone. Our research shows that a girl aged 17 is more likely to experience lower happiness and life satisfaction than a ten-year-old.

"This is a crucial moment in a girl's life where proactive intervention and support is needed, and that is exactly what the Dove Self-Esteem Project is designed to do. Its evidence-based tools, interventions, and workshops are proven to help build positive body confidence in young people, and ultimately help the next generation reach their full potential in life."