01/12/2025
So many of my clients have a deep belief that the size of their body defines their health and their beauty.
⚖️BMI is rubbish at determining how healthy we are as individuals. It was never designed to measure health. Nor was it designed to be used in individuals.
As many people with PCOS are overweight, they are often faced with weight stigma, and this, along with their PCOS symptoms, can have an impact on their body image.
📑A recent paper explored body image in people with PCOS and those without, and it is clear to see that those with PCOS experience more significant body image concerns than those without.
We still need more research to explore why this is the case, but from working with hundreds of people with PCOS I know that some of the influencing factors include: the type of care they receive, whether they face weight stigma, if they are given unhelpful advice like 'just lose weight' or 'just cut carbs', if they are made to feel blamed for their condition, if they experience symptoms like hirsutism or infertility - these all make a difference to their body dissatisfaction and self esteem.
The way we see our own body and what we believe others think of our body can have a huge impact on our day to day lives. If these thoughts are negative then this negative body image is often rooted in a belief that we are not good enough, healthy enough, beautiful enough as we are.
But health and beauty have nothing to do with size. ❤️