According to a Recent Survey, a Shocking Amount of Body Shaming Comes From Within the Home

Although being self-conscious about the way you look is unfortunately not an uncommon trend as far as kids and teenagers are concerned, a recent survey completed by Fitrated suggests the main source of body shaming often comes from within the home, rather than the media, as many assume. Fitrated asked 1,046 men and women in the US about their experiences with body shaming, and unfortunately, many pointed the finger at their mothers.

Of the people involved in the survey, 92.7 percent of all women have been body shamed, and 86.5 percent of men have been made to feel self-conscious about how they look at one point or another. Although those numbers are extremely sobering, what's even more troubling is who's behind the criticism.

Out of all the influences that those surveyed (and all of us, really) have in their lives — such as friends, family, employers — 62.7 percent of women said their moms were the main source of body shaming compared to 30.6 percent of men. And women's friends weren't far behind their mothers — with 61.7 percent admitting they were shamed by friends. Interestingly, men were more likely to get body shamed by their friends and significant others before their moms.

Fathers were further down on the list, but the numbers weren't much better, especially when it comes to girls. Nearly 41 percent of women admitted to getting body shamed by their dads, compared to almost 26 percent of men.

So what does this mean for parents of daughters? Be extremely mindful of how you talk about body image, food, and dieting. Even well-meaning comments have the potential to make your kids feel self-conscious — and we definitely don't need more of that in today's day and age.