(NewsNation Now) — Men in the U.S. and U.K. believe they’re unattractive and it’s affecting their mental health, according to a new study by the health and beauty retailer Superdrug.
Just more than 40% of men say they’re happy with how they look, while about 58% say they aren’t satisfied with their appearance. Perceived “ideal” heights and weights, as well as societal pressure to look like a superhero, are contributing to men’s negative mental health and body image, according to the study. What’s more, 30.1% of men agreed they felt “unmanly” or self-conscious trying to discuss body image issues.
Girls are more likely than boys to have a negative body image, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Those feeling tend to be linked to strict and unrealistic social and cultural beauty ideals.
But Superdrug’s study found that adult men feel different societal pressures that are taking a toll on their self-image.
The study collected responses from 1,004 people identifying as men. Of those, 504 were from the U.S. and 500 were from the UK. Respondents on average, rated their attractiveness as a 5.9 on a scale from one to 10, 10 being extremely attractive. Top insecurities included weight, muscle definition, abs, teeth and hair.
Notably, insecurities persisted even among those with the self-reported “ideal” weight (168.3 pounds) and height (6 feet).
One source of poor body image was a perceived societal pressure to look like a superhero, namely Captain America. That’s in part because men believe society and women are attracted to abs, chests, biceps, jawlines and butts, in that order, according to the study.
More than half of men agreed, however, that the top source of their own insecurity was simply looking in a mirror. Only 26.9% said the same thing about social media.
To improve their appearance, men are turning to multivitamins, protein powder and weight loss pills more than other health products. Face wash, skincare products, body lotion, hair styling products and beard oil were among their most-used beauty products.
Nearly 40% of men said they felt societal pressure to go to the gym and lift weights.
There is hope, however.
The eldest of the respondents were less likely than their younger counterparts to buy products to help improve their appearance. They also were generally the happiest with the way they looked.