The PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education) Association has launched new guidelines for teachers delivering lessons on body image.

Produced in response to what the association describes as “increasing concerns linked to body image”, the document aspires to assist professionals when it comes to teaching lessons on the sensitive topic, which is part of the PSHE curriculum.

The PSHE Association explains that in today’s culture, youngsters and adults are exposed to constant messages that “link [one’s] individual worth with [one’s] physical appearance”.

“The growth of social media has brought celebrity culture into young people’s bedrooms, and young people report feeling increasingly besieged by sexualised and unrealistic images of beauty,” it noted in the guidelines.

“These issues emerge across the school curriculum and in all aspects of school life. The PSHE education curriculum has a valuable role to play in helping young people to improve their personal resilience to body image pressures, and so become more confident and effective learners.”

Body image is defined by the authors of the report as being the way in which any given individual believes their body looks, as well as what they think others perceive it to be.

This response can be either positive or negative. How we see ourselves is determined by numerous factors, including through biological predispositions, the influence of friends and family members, via the media and the culture we live in.

“Two people could appear identical but due to a combination of biology and experience, one may experience negative body image while the other has positive body image,” The PSHE Association noted in the document.

“One of the reasons that some people experience more negative body image than others is to do with their level of self-objectification.”