Children’s shaping of body (size) ideals and practices across everyday contexts

Background

Body (size) dissatisfaction is a key public health concern linked to poorer wellbeing among children, and research shows it emerges through comparison with sociocultural body (size) ideals. However, existing research has primarily focused on establishing the presence of these ideals and dissatisfaction, leaving limited insight into how they are shaped through the institutions, relations, and practices that constitute children’s everyday lives. This child-centered qualitative study examines how children actively shape and practice body (size) ideals and dissatisfaction across everyday contexts.

Methods

The study draws on 60 days of participant observation, 14 focus groups with Danish schoolchildren aged 8-9, 11-12, and 14-15 years, and interviews with teachers and the school nurse (spring 2025). It further includes ongoing interviews and observations with the same cohort focusing on children’s everyday contexts outside of school (spring 2026).

Results

Across age groups, body (size) ideals and dissatisfaction were socially negotiated and practiced in children’s everyday interactions. Both boys and girls described diverse body (size) ideals and engaged in a range of body maintenance practices. Although slimness was frequently described as a general ideal, this study points to clear disparities in gender and context. Girls more often emphasized appearance and slimness, while boys tended to highlight bodily capabilities, muscularity, and height. Importantly, body (size) ideals and dissatisfaction appeared to vary particularly across leisure contexts and between friendship groups.

Conclusions

Children’s body (size) ideals and dissatisfaction are socially shaped, context dependent, and gendered. Attending to these social, contextual, and gendered dynamics provides a nuanced foundation for promoting children’s wellbeing by addressing not only individual attitudes but also the everyday arenas in which body (size) ideals are shaped and practiced.

Key messages

• Accounting for gendered body ideals is key to addressing children’s body (size) dissatisfaction.

• Everyday contexts shape children’s body (size) ideals and dissatisfaction differently.