Covid-19 anxiety could be leading to rise in body image issues, study warns

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Anxiety around Covid-19 could be causing body image issues among both men and women, research suggests. Feelings of stress associated with the pandemic are associated with men having a greater desire for muscularity and women having a greater desire for thinness, according to the study led by Anglia Ruskin University. Researchers surveyed 506 adults in the UK, with an average age of 34, about stress and body image.

Participants were also asked a series of questions about the impact of Covid-19 on their daily lives and to rate their anxiety caused by the pandemic on a seven-point scale. The survey results indicated that stress and anxiety related to the coronavirus are associated with more negative body image. Negative body image is one of the main causes of eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia.