Most body confident countries: SA ranks in the Top 10

A recent study has revealed the most body confident countries in the world, with South Africa ranking quite highly.

Body confident countries of the world

In a recent global survey, researchers from Anglia Ruskin University asked more than 56 000 people from 65 nations about their body image and how body confident they felt. 

Up until now, reports Daily Mail, not a lot of research has looked at how body appreciation ranges from country to country. To help figure this out, the Anglia Ruskin University team enlisted exactly 56 968 participants from 65 countries who were asked to rate how far they agreed with ten statements.

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These statements included the likes of ‘I respect my body’, and ‘I appreciate the different and unique characteristics of my body.’.

Professor Viren Swami, lead author of the study, said that it was one of the largest studies on body image ever carried out.

“Our finding that greater body appreciation is associated with better psychological wellbeing highlights the importance of developing ways to promote more positive body image globally.” Swami said.

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SA lands in the Top 10

According to the results, the researchers found that Malta ranked as the most body confident country, followed by Taiwan, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, South Korea and the Philippines. South Africa also ranked quite highly, featuring at number 10.

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At the other end of the study, Australians had the lowest body confidence, followed by India, the UK, Ireland, Ukraine, Germany and the US.

Interestingly, the study also found that body appreciation was higher in people who lived in rural areas, as well as those who were single.

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Take a look at the Top 10 most and least body confident countries below:

Most body confident countries	Least body confident countries
1. Malta	1. Australia
2. Taiwan	2. India
3. Bangladesh	3. UK
4. Kazakhstan	4. Ireland
5. South Korea	5. Ukraine
6. Philippines	6. Germany
7. Eqypt	7. USA
8. Iraq	8. China
9. Poland	9. France
10. South Africa	10. Brazil

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