I don't like my body

BarcelonaA couple of months ago, singer Amaia admitted in statements to a fashion magazine that she had low self-esteem because it seems to be fashionable to be too thin, and she likes to eat. Unfortunately, in 2026 we are experiencing the boom of Ozempic and other slimming products. Therefore, it is important to help children learn to accept their bodies. What Elena Crespi, a psychologist, sexologist, and feminist, proposes is to make them understand that the world is diverse in terms of bodies, and that even though the models they always show us are a specific type of body, if they look around them they will see that it is full of diverse and fantastic bodies, with more or less functionalities: "Even though in series, movies, and social networks there is only room for bodies that fit within a model, they must be made to understand that each one is different and has its own capabilities".

The problem is that body dissatisfaction in the general adolescent population is high. Studies show that in Barcelona, 63.2% of girls between 13 and 19 years old have body dissatisfaction and 55.3% of boys do too. “This means that not liking oneself is the norm. Among these young people, who do not have an eating disorder (ED), there is body diversity; some are of normal weight, overweight, and obese” – points out Eduard Serrano, doctor in psychology and head of the Eating Disorders Unit (ED) at Sant Joan de Déu Hospital – “which shows that having a body within the aesthetic model does not guarantee body satisfaction either.” Studies also show that body dissatisfaction begins in girls at 6 years old. They want to be thinner and boys want to be stronger.

Body dissatisfaction and shame

According to Elena Crespi, in a world that teaches us to hate our bodies, it's very difficult to like them. Hence the importance of fostering critical thinking, recommending readings that help to reflect and be critical of unhealthy models. Eduard Serrano adds that image-based social networks, like TikTok and Instagram, encourage comparisons between bodies. “When there is a distance between body perception and the current aesthetic model, body dissatisfaction is born.” Dissatisfaction with one's own body is a risk factor for a possible eating disorder, but not everyone subjected to these images develops an ED. “If the young person's self-esteem is based on other pillars – their personality, family, and friends – having body dissatisfaction does not imply getting sick. To develop an ED, other risk factors must coincide, such as self-demand, perfectionism, sociocultural or genetic factors,” points out the doctor. To confront these realities, what is proposed is to accompany children in accepting body diversity.

This is what Marcos's parents (17 years old) have been doing, who this summer has gone back to the beach and the pool without problems, after almost two years of being ashamed of his body. The father explains that when they realized he didn't accept his body and was trying hard to change it, it was already too late: "He didn't have an eating disorder but he was obsessed with what he ate, he was very strict with processed foods, fried foods, and also with rest times and routines. He quit football and started going to the gym every day". He found problems with his hair, teeth, chin, height, legs... "We tried to stop him from doing crazy things with food and we cooked him what he asked for. We thought it would be better to support him and for him to have the confidence to tell us what he didn't like and how he felt", says the mother.

When should the alarms go off?

Feeling ashamed to show their body or disliking their physical appearance becomes a problem when it impacts their personal, family, or school life. In practice, this means they go on a very hypocaloric or restrictive diet, exercise compulsively not for enjoyment but to lose weight, stop going out with friends, and experience increased isolation and irritability.

Regarding the body there would be an intense and resistant rejection of one's own image, they would make very negative comments about it, change their way of dressing, avoid exposing their body and any activity related to food. “Sometimes families don't know exactly what's going on, but they are aware that something is happening and they see that it has a significant impact,” comments Serrano. In these cases, he recommends consulting the pediatrician or family doctor to make an initial assessment and, if they consider it to be an eating disorder, to refer to a specialist. “Early detection, the start of specialized treatment, and family support are fundamental protective factors,” he concludes.

We overcome aesthetic pressure

When Júlia Barceló, an activist for body liberation, published Operació Biquini (Editorial Flamboyant, 2021), there was much less talk about pressure on bodies than there is now. What her book, which features illustrations by Camille Vannier, proposes is that we free ourselves from aesthetic pressure. The protagonist is an adolescent who feels her body needs to change, and she needs to do so to be able to go to a beach party with her friends. She recalls Sant Jordi when two girls, about 12 years old, approached her. They had been in therapy for eating disorders and had a poor relationship with their bodies, and both had read her book following their psychologist's recommendation. “It’s a good excuse to talk about the subject at home, it helps young people to open up,” says the author. Barceló believes that a kind of pessimism hangs over bodily liberation: “As with any feminist advance or one that seeks to break with the system, reactionary movements and opinions emerge. It is part of the journey and we must continue fighting”. She says we are in the era of Ozempic and the return of extreme thinness like in the 90s and 2000s, but this does not negate that a lot of work has been done: “Now we do see non-normative bodies in different spaces, and not so long ago it would have been impossible”, she concludes.