As part of Women's Health's "Naked Truth" issue, WH polled more than 4,400 American women-as well as thousands (!) more people around the world-about everything relating to body image.
Your body is just one part of what makes you, well, you. And even though people are finally starting to embrace cellulite, stretch marks, and other "flaws" that make us unique, most women still have a pretty complex relationship with how they look.
As part of Women's Health's "Naked Truth" issue, WH polled more than 4,400 American women-as well as thousands (!) more people around the world-about everything relating to body image, from how women felt about their naked bodies to where and when they feel the most confident. And your answers were really surprising:
Many women embrace their beauty…
There’s been a big push in recent years for change the concept of beauty from a narrow, one-dimensional viewpoint to something more all-encompassing-and it seems to be working. More than 66 percent of people polled say they think they’re beautiful. (Hopefully one day we can get that to 100 percent.)
64 percent of people reported feeling most confident right after a workout. Talk about #WHStrong!
…But they still aren’t totally cool with their bodies
When asked if there is a part of their bodies that they'd like to improve, 57 percent of readers said they want to improve how their butt, legs, arms, AND stomach looks. Only about 1 percent said that they don’t want to improve the way their body looks.
A decent amount of people love to be nude at home (yas!)
For some, hanging out at home in your birthday suit is a no-brainer. For others, it just doesn’t happen. WH readers were pretty split on this one: 48 percent of readers said they walk around the house naked, while 52 percent said they don't.
Most women want to lose weight
A whopping 84 percent of respondents said they want to lose weight, while just 16 percent said they’re okay with the way they are. Most people who said they weren't at their ideal weight said that they wanted to lose six to 10 pounds.
Good news: 44 percent of women said they're more confident about their bodies now than last year.
The gym is overwhelmingly a confidence-booster
When do you feel most confident? For 64 percent of you, confidence happens right after breaking a sweat. And 41 percent of you reported feeling "most proud" of your bodies when you crush a workout at the gym. Yassss!
For 49 percent of people, "you look fit" is the ideal compliment. Because strong > skinny, right?
Age matters
Here’s something to look forward to: 44 percent of readers said they feel more confident about their bodies now than they did one year ago. The most commonly cited reason why? “I made a change in my health habits and am in a better place.”
Despite everything, most women said they feel pretty good about their bodies
Despite how most people felt about their weight or certain parts of their bodies, at the end of the day, 66 percent of women said they’re either accepting or happy-ish about their bodies.
It’s pretty clear that we still have a ways to go towards total body positivity-but this year's Naked Truth Survey shows that women have made a lot of really amazing progress towards loving themselves.
These survey results also appear in the September issue of Women's Health. Pick up your copy, on newsstands 8/7.