Butterfly’s second annual youth survey to reveal true status of body image in young Australians

For the second year, Butterfly is partnering with nib foundation to deliver the Butterfly Body Kind Youth Survey, to better understand young Australian’s body image issues.

Butterfly Foundation (Butterfly) is launching its second Body Kind Youth survey, Australia’s first national body image survey for young people, aged between 12–18 years.

After the successful launch of the Body Kind Youth Survey in September 2022,  Butterfly is once again surveying  young people across Australia on the important issue of body image.

Butterfly’s CEO, Dr Jim Hungerford, said the second annual survey will provide further insights into the current and changing prevalence of body image concerns and related issues for Australia’s youth to help inform the development of Butterfly’s resources for families.

“Body image issues are a leading risk factor in the development of an eating disorder,” said Dr Hungerford said. “This survey is a key part of Butterfly’s efforts to prevent young people developing these issues. While the first set of results from the Body Kind Youth Survey gave us vital insights, there is still more to be done to fill the research gap in understanding body image in young Australians.

“This second annual survey will provide essential comparison so we can better understand the experiences of this age group, how these issues are changing over time and continue to help inform Butterfly’s programs and ensure they are as current and suited to young people’s needs as possible.

“Over time, the results will also help us identify what impacts prevention efforts have, and be a catalyst for our advocacy work. It will help reinforce our calls for greater support and funding for prevention and early intervention work to address the increasing issues of body dissatisfaction, disordered eating and eating disorders in young Australians,” he said.

The survey will include questions targeted at key influences, including, the role of social media, body comparisons and appearance-focused bullying and teasing relating to young peoples’ perceptions of body image and body satisfaction.

Additional questions will relate to how body image impacts young people’s lives, the ways in which young people support their own body image and how and the ways in which they are kind to their bodies, and the types of information and resources that would be helpful for young people.

nib foundation Executive Officer, Amy Tribe, said the Body Kind Survey will help establish a benchmark to assess the long-term trends in body image in Australia’s youth.

“The ages between 12 – 18 years are a fundamental time to support young peoples’ positive perceptions of their body image and build Body Kind habits,” Mrs Tribe said. “The survey is vital to understanding young Aussies’ relationships with their body and body image, so organisations like Butterfly can support them,” Mrs Tribe said.

“We also see these trends in nib’s own claiming activity. Claims for eating disorders among members under 20 years has almost doubled compared to 3 years ago.

“There is a need for greater investment in prevention for young people and the latest 10-year roadmap to managing eating disorders announced last month by the federal government is a welcomed reform. It’s also why we’re happy to be funding the survey for another year, as well as Butterfly’s Body Kind Families program which has supported over 5,000 families and young people with practical tips and information for promoting positive body image in the home,” she said.

The project is part of Butterfly’s Body Kind initiative designed to create environments (schools, families, sporting clubs, online), that support body image in young Australians.

About the survey

Butterfly Foundation is inviting all young people aged 12-18 to have their voices heard about body image. This is a chance to complete the second annual national survey on body image, the Body Kind Youth Survey, so Butterfly can better understand the body image experiences of young Australians, get young peoples’ views on what needs to change to create a more Body Kind Australia.   The online survey is voluntary, anonymous, has ethics approval, takes 15 minutes, and requires parental consent for under 15s. There is also a draw to win one of twenty gift vouchers.

For further information and to access the survey visit – www.butterfly.org.au/bkyouthsurvey

To access the survey go to https://melbourneuni.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1ZV6nNZ27Ufy1zE or scan the QR code below.

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Media Contacts

Editor and producers note

Please include the following support line details in all media coverage of this story and refer to the Mindframe Media guidelines for safe reporting on eating disorders.

Anyone needing support with eating disorders or body image issues is encouraged to contact:

• Butterfly National Helpline on 1800 33 4673 (1800 ED HOPE) or support@butterfly.org.au
• Eating Disorders Victoria Helpline on 1300 550 23
• For urgent support call Lifeline 13 11 14