Current Event II

MPs in Parliament

 As the issue of mental health and body image is increasing, Members of Parliament (MPs) in the United Kingdom decided to create a survey that focuses on the effect of body image on physical and mental health. This survey asks people if they used the National Health Service (NHS) to deal with how satisfied they were with their services and how successful the results were. Moreover, the questions included in the questionnaire cover various topics. For example, it asks whether the thoughts and emotions on body image negatively influence the quality of life. I believe that this survey is an excellent example of how to spread awareness on this matter. Yet, I was surprised that it does not include the questions on social media and negative body image due to the fact that this issue has its link to social media platforms. The chairman of the Health and Social Care Committee said that the uneasiness that young people have regarding their body image is distressing, and this was the reason for creating this survey. The MPs want to know if people participating in this study know where to get help and if they feel uncomfortable when seeking help. A motivation to create this study might be the Women and Equalities Committee research, where they found that 61 per cent of adults and 66 per cent of children felt pessimistic about their body image. Those responses mentioned photoshop, social media, diet culture and lack of representation in adverts as the main reasons for poor body image. The respondents were also able to give some recommendations on improving this. One of the pieces of advice was to teach children in schools about body diversity or more funding for mental health services. I believe that these recommendations could improve the poor views of body image, mainly if it will be a part of education amongst children at a young age. 

• 78% of all under-18 respondents said they would like to learn more about body image in school

References: 

BBC News. (2022, April 25). MPs launch survey on body image and mental health. https://www.bbc.com/news/health-61219282

Getty Images. (n.d.). MPs in the House of Commons [Photograph]. Guardian. https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/1950f32a5c6222adda2e152803fd1c1cc6698753/66_0_2018_1211/master/2018.jpg?width=465&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=6a7641172aee3861b189fba1e6975528

The Women and Equalities Committee. (2020). Body Image Survey Results. Parliament UK. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5801/cmselect/cmwomeq/805/80502.htm