Guide to Cultivating a Healthy Body Image 

A healthy body image can lead to higher self-esteem and a more positive self-image, which work to foster stronger, healthier relationships with yourself and others. On the other hand, a negative body image can lead to low self-esteem and the many issues it contributes to, including a higher risk of experiencing depression and developing eating disorders.

Cultivating or maintaining a positive body image isn’t always easy. But there are some tips that can help you learn to feel content with yourself, develop body positivity, and avoid some of the common pitfalls that lead to negative body image.

What Leads to a Negative Body Image?

People aren’t born hating their bodies. Ideas about how people “should” look—and the anxieties over not achieving that appearance—are learned. Unfortunately, there are a number of outlets that offer these misguided and unhelpful lessons.

Some contributing factors to developing a negative body image include:¹

• Environment: Growing up in an environment where there is a large emphasis on physical appearance or criticism around those with particular body shapes or sizes can increase the likelihood of developing body image concerns. This can include home, school, work, or other places where someone spends a lot of time.
• Influencing figures: Parents, family members, and other loved ones or caretakers who regularly express thoughts related to negative body image or engage in behaviors to control their weight can pass down their ideals, intentionally or not.
• Social influences: Being teased or bullied about your weight, shape, size, or appearance, particularly in childhood, can put you at risk of developing a negative body image.
• Social media: Social media often portrays an edited and unrealistic ideal body image that is unattainable, but individuals often compare themselves to these “snapshots” and unsuccessfully attempt to recreate them, leading to body dissatisfaction.²
• Cultural pressures: Many cultures hold up certain body shapes and sizes as “beautiful” and others as “undesirable.” This can add pressure to attain these shapes or make someone prioritize appearance over other valuable characteristics.
• Gender dysphoria: When someone’s gender identity and biological gender do not match up, it can cause the kind of stress and anxiety known as gender dysphoria. Being unhappy, unsure, or confused about one’s own body in this way can lead to negative body image.
• Low self-esteem: Poor body image can lead to low self-esteem, but the reverse is also true. Low self-esteem can contribute to a negative view of self, which can include physical appearance and body image.
• Depression, anxiety, and mental health conditions: Similar to self-esteem, mental health conditions—particularly mood-related disorders—can be caused by negative body image or lead to negative body image. Eating disorders also have a strong connection to conditions like depression and anxiety.
• Personality traits: Perfectionism and rigid thinking are two personality traits that leave people more susceptible to absorbing criticism about their bodies or enforcing “punishment” for not achieving certain physical ideals. 
• Media: The images presented on TV shows, movies, online content, and advertisements—usually unrealistic and enhanced by filters—can impact how people feel about their appearance and self-worth. Content focusing on “getting fit” or losing weight can also keep someone preoccupied with these ideas.

Effects of Negative Body Image

A negative body image can be damaging to many areas of your life, leading to unhealthy relationships with yourself, the people in your life, and even the food you eat and the physical activity you perform. 

If you are unhappy with the way you look, you may feel depressed or anxious and have low self-esteem and self-worth. These types of feelings make someone more susceptible to using unhealthy measures to lose weight or change their body. This can include dieting, excessive exercise, and disordered eating habits.⁴

These feelings can run deep. Messages about body image often start from a young age, when we start internalizing the things we hear and see and begin to develop a sense of self.⁴ This can make it difficult to even understand that your relationship with your body image, food, or exercise is not healthy because it will feel “normal.”

Still, even if you’ve developed unfair or unhelpful views of yourself, it’s possible to unlearn these ideas and work on promoting positive body image.

10 Tips for Fostering a Healthy Body Image

A positive body image can be equally as impactful on your life as a negative one. This type of perspective can help improve your overall quality of life, leading to more happiness and a higher sense of self-worth. 

Here are 10 tips that can help you see yourself in a healthier light.

1. Celebrate and Appreciate What Your Body is Capable Of

A negative body image comes from a negative perspective or a scarcity mindset. Rather than focusing on what’s “bad,” what you “don’t have,” or what you don’t like about your body, try thinking about the many wonderful things you have and all your body allows you to do every day.

To help you fully appreciate all the good your body has to offer, it can be helpful to make a list of things your body can do, whether it’s enjoying activities like dancing, hiking, or yoga or performing hobbies like gardening, drawing, or playing an instrument. Something as simple as hugging loved ones can bring you joy, and even being able to move without difficulty through the world is a wonderful thing that many people take for granted.

2. See Yourself as a Whole Person

Physical appearance is only one aspect of who we are as people, and it is hardly the most important one. Instead of focusing on this quality alone, consider the many other things that make a person valuable.

If you are clever, creative, hardworking, loyal, or caring, these qualities bring much value to your life and make you a whole, interesting, and worthy person. You can use this perspective to look at the qualities you admire about yourself. Writing them down can remind you of the many positive attributes you possess and help you feel better about yourself as a whole.

3. Develop a Healthy Relationship with Food and Exercise

Dieting, diet culture, and even aspects of the “wellness” movement can perpetuate harmful ideas of how we “should” eat, exercise, be, and look. Even people who claim to be promoting “healthy” eating habits can have the perspective that these habits should be used to attain a specific body shape and size.

Instead of dieting or participating in programs that focus on achieving an appearance-based goal, try switching up your mindset. The Health at Every Size movement has plenty of tips, ideas, and information about how to eat and move for health and enjoyment rather than fitting into a specific “look.”

4. Wear Clothing that Makes You Feel Good About Yourself

Every body is beautiful, and clothes can be used to emphasize the unique beauty of every body’s shape and size.

If there’s a part of your body you like, find clothes that show it off or emphasize it. It may also be helpful to ignore the size or number on the label. These measurements can be a source of anxiety, but they’re often arbitrary and can change from brand to brand. 

Clothes that fit comfortably will make you feel better, which will make you look better, no matter what the label says. 

5. Tune Out Social Media

Remember, images on social media and other forms of popular media represent a sense of beauty that is literally unrealistic. The images themselves are nearly always filtered, photoshopped, or otherwise cleverly staged for effect. 

You might want to review all the accounts you’re following and weed out any heavily image-based or promote certain aspects of fitness, wellness, or diet culture. With the amount of time we all spend looking at our phones, having these accounts pop up can be more influential than you think. Look instead for more meaningful and fulfilling content, which can help be a positive influence.

6. Treat Your Body with Respect

Treating your body with respect means giving it what it needs or is asking for to be the best version of itself. That could come in the form of eating nutritious meals, getting enough sleep, drinking more water, or taking care of your physical and mental health. It could also mean taking the time to love your body, regardless of its shape or size.

You might want to try intuitive eating to help you tune into your body’s needs, desires, and wants. Positive affirmations can help you consistently remind yourself that you are worthy, just as you are.

7. Surround Yourself with Positivity

Just as the social media accounts you follow can influence how you feel, the people you’re closest with can leave lasting impressions on your perspective, including your body image. 

You will have an easier time maintaining a positive body image if you consistently interact with others who have positive outlooks. This could include supportive people, people who like you for who you are, and people who have healthy body images themselves.

8. Work to Shut Down Negative Thoughts

Negative thoughts and perceptions of yourself are natural. But that doesn’t make them the final word. 

If you start slipping into negative self-talk, take the time to pause and refocus. Instead, start thinking about things you like about yourself or recite some positive affirmations to help shift your mindset. 

Mindfulness is key here. Practicing mindfulness can help you separate your thoughts from your feelings. Take that moment to recognize when a thought is not serving you and to intentionally focus on something more positive.

9. Practice Self-Care

How you treat yourself has a lot to do with how you feel about yourself. When you are constantly in a negative or scarcity mindset and “punish” yourself with diet and exercise for the things you don’t have, you reinforce the message that you’re not good enough. Self-care is a way to reinforce, even subconsciously, that you are worthy.

Taking a bath, getting your hair or nails done, doing yoga, journaling, going for a walk, spending time with friends and loved ones, reading a book, or just giving yourself the grace to nap or find a peaceful place to relax all send the signal that you deserve these nice things, which can help you believe it’s true.

10. Use Your Resources to Help Others 

Often, one of the best ways to feel good about yourself is to help others feel better about themselves. 

You can make it a goal to give some positive energy back to the world. Volunteer, make donations, or take the time to talk with other people who may be struggling with poor body image or low self-esteem.

Maintaining a Healthy Body Image

A positive body image doesn’t just need to be cultivated; it needs to be maintained. This part of the process can be difficult for many people, but it often gets easier the longer it’s practiced. 

To keep on top of your positive outlook, it’s helpful to check in with yourself regularly. Take a moment to feel your feelings and analyze your beliefs and attitudes toward food, eating, health, exercise, body image, and physical appearance. If you’re coming up against some negative attitudes, look for positive ways to change your thinking and adjust your mindset.

Journaling can be a great way to track these thoughts and emotions. Many people also find therapy or group sessions helpful, even if only periodically. 

What to Do if a Negative Body Image Leads to an Eating Disorder

One of the most dangerous negative consequences of an unhealthy body image can be an elevated risk of developing an eating disorder. 

Disordered eating behaviors often begin as an effort to try to control weight or achieve a specific body shape or size. And people who experience negative body image may be more susceptible to these unhelpful thoughts and practices.

If you’re experiencing negative self-talk that’s leading to disordered eating behaviors, it’s time to seek help.

Specialized professional treatment is optimal to manage the mental and physical aspects of these conditions. A healthcare professional can help you stop episodes of disordered eating and improve your body image, self-esteem, relationship with food, and relationship with yourself.

The most important thing to remember is that there are many different ways to find help if you need it.