Experts to give evidence in Youth Select Committee body image inquiry

At an evidence session tomorrow (Friday 7 July) the inquiry will hear from Professor Peter Fonagy of the psychoanalysis unit at University College London (UCL), and chief executive of children's mental health charity the Anna Freud Centre, Dr Phillippa Diedrichs from the Centre for Appearance Research, and Professor Jessica Ringrose, Institute for Education, UCL.

Experts from Facebook, NHS England, Sport England and Girlguiding will also give evidence to the committee, as will a panel of young social media users and bloggers.

The inquiry will hold a second public evidence session at the Houses of Parliament on Friday 14 July, when it will hear from Natasha Devon, co-founder of the Self-Esteem Team and former schools mental health champion at the Department for Education.

Both evidence sessions will be broadcast on BBC Parliament.

The hearing comes amid rising concerns about the effects that online media is having on children's body consciousness. Earlier this week, a leading adolescent gynaecologist warned about an increase in referrals of pre-pubescent girls wanting surgery to improve the appearance of their vaginas.

Thomas Copeland, chair of the Youth Select Committee, said: "Body Image has become an issue of considerable concern for young people, so it is crucial that they are given a voice on this important subject. We are really looking forward to hearing what young people and professionals highlight as the key areas of potential policy improvement throughout the inquiry."

The inquiry was launched in May after nearly one million young people voted it as one of their top 10 concerns in a UK Youth Parliament ballot in late 2016.

It is investigating the impact of body image on children and young people's wellbeing, covering issues such as whether social media encourages negative feelings about body image in young people.

It is also exploring the link between body image and mental health and whether social media and internet companies could do more to tackle online trends encouraging too much focus on body image and looks.

A report of the inquiry will be submitted to the government for consideration later in the year.

The committee is an initiative of the British Youth Council, and is made up of 11 young people aged 13 to 18.