Confinement, curfew: Covid-19 makes us hate our bodies

The anxiety-provoking climate due to the Covid-19 epidemic and the long weeks of confinement that we suffered in the spring have damaged the image we have of our own bodies.

This is the conclusion reached by researchers from Anglia Ruskin University (England). In a study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences involving 506 British adults, with an average age of 34, they establish a link between anxiety and stress caused by the pandemic and body dissatisfaction.

Aggravation of eating disorders

In women, this dissatisfaction with one’s figure translates into a greater desire for thinness, while in men, it is associated with a greater desire for musculature.

For both, this negative body image can have repercussions on health, in particular by triggering eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. This conclusion is also in line with that of other scientific work, which had shown that the restrictions introduced to combat the Covid-19 epidemic could contribute to triggering or aggravating mental health disorders.

“Besides the impact of the virus itself, our results suggest that the pandemic could also lead to an increase in body image issues. In some cases, these issues can have very serious repercussions, including triggering eating disorders”explains Viren Swami, professor of social psychology and lead author of the study.

According to him, the period of confinement was particularly conducive to a deterioration of our body image. The reason ? The increase in our screen time, which has us more “exposed to ideals of thinness or athleticism through the media, while decreased physical activity may have accentuated negative thoughts about weight or shape”. Furthermore, he argues, “It’s possible that the added anxiety and stress caused by Covid-19 has diminished the coping mechanisms we usually use to deal with negative thoughts”.

Conform to gender stereotypes

The study also revealed that when we are stressed or anxious, we are more susceptible to gender stereotypes. “During the lockdown, women may have felt greater pressure to conform to traditionally feminine roles and norms, and messages about self-improvement may have led women to feel dissatisfied with their bodies and have a greater desire for thinness.”

“Similarly, our findings reflect how stress and anxiety impact men’s relationships with their bodies, particularly in terms of male body ideals. Given that masculinity typically emphasizes value of toughness, self-reliance and status-seeking, the stress and anxiety of Covid-19 may cause men to place a greater emphasis on muscularity.”