Women tend to have the lowest levels of body confidence when they are young, with their self-image improving gradually with age, new research published in the journal Body Image suggests.
A study by scientists from Griffith University in Australia covering women whose ages ranged from 18 to 94 revealed that women tend to see the greatest improvement in body image after the age of 60, which may suggest that by then, some women have become used to all their characteristics and no longer regard achieving an ‘ideal’ appearance as either attainable or necessary.
This may be assumed by some to reflect changing ideas about beauty, which might indeed shift over time and perhaps allow more varied concepts of what constitutes beauty, especially in an ageing population.
Indeed, the report suggested as much, with the scientists writing: “The thin and youthful beauty ideals encompass rigid sociocultural standards of beauty, with high value placed on excessively slender and youthful appearances as markers of attractiveness.” Over time, they note, women will tend to hold to these notions less firmly.
However, the research did also note that the overall improvement in body image perception with age was “very slight”, suggesting that women unhappy with their appearance will end to remain so for a long time.
For this reason, there is no reason to believe that women are about to stop wanting anti-ageing treatments such as anti-wrinkle injectables in Bristol.
Although the report did suggest a reduction in the desire of women to conform to certain notions of beauty was linked to factors like childbirth and the menopause, the reality is everyone is different, with women having different numbers of children or none at all, and being affected by the menopause in different ways.
Among the factors affecting younger people in general, not just women, is the impact of body confidence on sex. A recent YouGov survey found 61 per cent of Britons are affected by this, with the number feeling this is a constant concern being higher for women (18 per cent) than men (ten per cent).
This may be less of an issue for older women, who may be widowed, past worrying after decades of marriage, and less active in the bedroom.
