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A new school educational programme is being rolled out across the UK this autumn to challenge negative body image issues among adolescent girls.

The Body Philosophy campaign, launched by body confidence charity, Body Gossip, in partnership with skincare treatment Bio-Oil, aims to inspire a lifetime of body confidence through awareness and education.

The campaign follows new research from Bio-Oil, which highlighted widespread body confidence issues among teenage girls. Two in five girls are concerned about their weight, while a quarter worry about the size of their breasts. Other body image concerns include teeth (17 per cent) acne scars (10 per cent) and stretch marks (11 per cent). Skin and body concerns prevent 15 per cent of girls from participating in physical education lessons, while over a quarter have been bullied about their appearance and one in 10 have considered self-harm.

Body Gossip’s founder and director, Ruth Rogers said: “Low self-esteem due to a lack of body confidence is preventing far too many young people from fulfilling their potential. It doesn’t just negatively affect their educational growth in school, it can also drastically alter a young person’s development in adult life.”