BBC Survey Reveals 50% Of Female Respondents Would Consider Plastic Surgery

A BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat and 1Xtra TXU survey into how young Britons feel about their bodies found that more than 50% of female respondents said they would consider having plastic surgery. Almost a third (31%) of size 12 women describe their body as either overweight or fat.

And, in response to the survey, 43% of women say that they have skipped a meal to try and lose weight, while 8% have made themselves sick.

Almost 25,000 people completed a 16-question survey via the Radio 1 Newsbeat and 1Xtra TXU websites, between 26 January and 9 February 2007. The vast majority, 85%, of respondents, were aged 17 to 35.

Body Image

Almost a third (31%) of size 12 women describe their body as either overweight or fat, rising to two-thirds (66%) amongst size 14 women.

Half of the women surveyed (50%) said that there are "lots they would change" about their body, while more than one in ten said that they "hate" their body.

In comparison half of the men (49%) said that they are "ok" with how they look, and one in ten are "very happy" with their appearance.

More than half (53%) of the girls, aged 12 to 16, feel that their body image either stops them from getting a boyfriend or means that they cannot relax in a relationship.

Given the choice of three different female body types, both men and women rated a curvy body as the best.

Plastic Surgery

More than 50% of female respondents said they would consider having plastic surgery, compared with less than a quarter of men. Of those women, 36% would opt for breast enhancement, and 32% would go for liposuction.

Size Zero

Despite heated debate, less than 1% of respondents said that they were size zero (UK size 4). The survey suggests they are more likely to hate their body than size 12 women.

Diets

Forty-three per cent of the women say that they have skipped a meal to try and lose weight, whilst 8% have made themselves sick.

More than one in five female respondents said that they were on a diet, compared to fewer than one in ten men.

Weight Watchers was by far the most popular diet (with almost 20% of the dieters following it), but Atkins has plummeted in popularity with only 1% opting for the low carbohydrate eating plan.

Boys Bulking Up

On protein supplements, 20% of young men in their early 20s say that they have taken them, compared to 11% of over 35s.

When asked to rate photos of differently shaped male bodies, almost 80% of men favoured a very muscular physique.