1. Head of the Be Real Campaign
Liam Preston
Head of the Be Real Campaign

2. The Be Real Mission
The Be Real Campaign was created from a shared belief that body confidence is for everyone. Our mission is to unite the UK in prioritising body health and happiness over unrealistic image ideals.
Since 2014, we’ve worked with experts, schools, businesses, charities and public health organisations to help build a body-confident nation. Together, we inspire body confidence at source.
We deliver body confidence education in schools for both parents and children; work with health and fitness bodies to promote long-term healthy living and wellbeing; and partner with the media and advertising industry to promote the responsible portrayal of healthy and diverse body image.

3. Tackling body confidence at source
As a campaign we wanted to do more than just talk about tackling body confidence. Instead we wanted to create a campaign that had impact on the ground and tackled body confidence at source.
Through our experts, supporters and sponsors we identified the
two sources we needed to focus on.
The first was in the communications of the advertising, fashion, media and music industries which had a daily influence over how people view themselves.
The second was through early education before young people develop body image anxieties.

4. Effecting Government Policy
Change at any level of public policy is a challenge.
In the UK it is not on the agenda of our government, who prefer industry to change their own practices rather than through regulation.
While they recognise the need to change, they do not want to regulate in this area.
So in order to change practice we needed to engage with industries themselves.
However it does not mean that a Parliamentary route is useless. The Be Real Campaign has been effective in raising the profile of the issue in Parliament.

5. All-Party Parliamentary Group on Body Image

6. Effecting Industry Policy
Changing any level of public policy is a challenge.
In the UK the Advertising Standards Authority is the self-regulatory organisation of the advertising industry.
As it is self-regulation we still need to work with industry to make change possible.
So in order to change practice we needed to engage with industries themselves.

7. Communications
Advertising, media and ‘celebrity culture’ are the main social influences on body image. Whilst advertising will always have an aspirational and positive aspect to it, it should be recognised that it can also have a detrimental impact.
Developed with businesses, charities and subject matter experts, the Body Image Pledge is comprised of four parts which set out in simple, straight forward language how organisations and individuals can bring about responsible change in their approach to body image issues.

8. Body Image Pledge Reflect Diversity
Communications, as appropriate, should reflect the UK population’s diverse range of body shapes and sizes, skin tones, ages, genders, ethnicities, disfigurements, abilities and disabilities.

9. Body Image Pledge Reflect Reality
Images should show people as they are in real life, with alterations limited to technical corrections, such as light or deleting stray hairs.
Images should show what is realistically attainable for most people from using the products or services promoted.

10. Body Image Pledge Promote Health & Wellbeing
Models should be healthy and age-appropriate. Emphasis should be placed on health and wellbeing not weight or appearance.

11. Body Image Pledge Promote the Pledge
Promote and advocate the Body Image Pledge; encouraging others to adopt its principles and follow responsible body image practice.
Educate and train staff in responsible body image practice as defined by the Pledge.

12. Effecting Education Policy
Changing any level of education policy takes an enormous amount of time and a concerted effort by a number of organisations. The curriculum in the UK is set at a national level and so guaranteeing teachers time to discuss body confidence is a challenge.
In the UK we have a number of subjects which schools teach that body confidence could be easily applied. These would include Personal Social Health Education (PSHE) or through Citizenship classes.
However, making it a statutory part of the curriculum is something that right now seem unachievable.
The next best way to ensure body confidence is being taught at schools is to approach teachers themselves.

13. Education
Appearance is the largest cause of bullying in schools and body image anxiety impacts on young people in a number of ways.
In order to support young people we needed to understand how it was best to do so.
Be Real undertook a pupil and teacher survey in November 2016, with 2,000 young people aged 11 to 16 and 501 teachers, to understand what schools needed to game change body confidence.
To supplement this with more qualitative insight, we also held focus groups in 12 different locations in the UK with the same age group.
Education
Research has shown that appearance is the largest cause of bullying in schools and body image anxiety stops children from putting their hand up in class, discourages children from exercising, can lead to a variety of eating disorders, young people taking less care of themselves during sex, substance abuse and is directly linked to weight gain.
The Campaign wanted to talk to all young people aged 11-18, their teachers & parents. Secondary school workshop content already existed but wasn’t being taken up on a national level. The Campaign sought to understand why not. What would it take to get positive body confidence messages to every secondary school pupil, teacher and parent in the country? Working with the Education Specialist Agency, EdComs, Be Real undertook a pupil and teacher survey in November 2016, with 2,000 young people aged 11 to 16 and 501 teachers, to understand what schools needed to game change body confidence. To supplement this with more qualitative insight, YMCA also held focus groups in 12 different locations in the UK with the same age group. The combination of these two sources of information helped shape the campaign’s objectives and culminated in the Somebody Like Me research published in January 2017.

14. Research The key findings showed:
The scale of the body confidence challenge amongst young people:
52% of 11 to 16 year olds regularly worry about how they look
The impact body anxiety has on their lives:
30% of 11 to 16 year olds isolate themselves because of body image anxiety and 36% of 11 to 16 year olds said they would do ‘whatever it takes’ to look good, including considering cosmetic surgery
There is a need for more body confidence intervention in schools:
Only 48% of young people surveyed had learned about body confidence in school and of those who had learned about body confidence in school, 76% said it made them feel more positive about themselves.

15. Research The key findings from teachers showed:
86% said body confidence is important for students’ mental health
70% said they consider body confidence to be a serious issue amongst students
77% said schools have an important role in teaching young people about having body confidence
20% of teachers said they do not feel comfortable talking about body confidence with my students
Less than half said they knew where to go to find resources
29% wanted more resources, 15% training on the issue, 11% having more time available and 9% wanted more information.

16. Education
In January 2017, alongside research into year olds views on body confidence, we launched the Body Confidence Campaign Toolkit for Schools.
Rather than producing a classroom resource we wanted to allow schools to embrace body confidence through a ‘whole-school’ approach.
The toolkit provides teachers with information about body confidence, materials for students to run their own campaigns and model letters to teachers, governors and parents.
The aim is for it to be picked up by any teacher and for them to be able to embed body confidence in their school. We reached out to every secondary school in the country with a link to download the resource.

17. Making an Impact
The project had an ‘industry standard’ target of 200 downloads which was recommended by the specialist we worked with. Six months later it has been downloaded over 1,400 times and by more than 700 schools.
There has been a huge number of downloads and the spread has been across England, Scotland and Wales.

18. Education

20. Head of the Be Real Campaign Press and Public Affairs Manager
Liam Preston
Head of the Be Real Campaign
Press and Public Affairs Manager
YMCA England & Wales T: M: E:
@lbpreston