University of Brighton launches body image research project

Launched by the University of Brighton, the scheme aims to address structural bias in body image research and broaden how society understands people’s experiences with their bodies.

Researchers argue that years of research in the field have centred too narrowly on predominantly white, middle-class groups, excluding millions from the evidence that shapes healthcare, education and public health messaging.

Dr Jamie Chan, lecturer in psychology at the University of Brighton, said: "From the very beginning, the development of body image as a field of research has centred the experiences of white people.

"Theories have been built on samples of white, middle-class university students and those samples have shaped everything: how we define body image, how we measure it and what conclusions we draw."

Dr Chan believes this narrow focus has far-reaching consequences.

Body image research influences everything from mental health treatment and school curriculum to public health campaigns and societal messaging about what a “healthy” or “ideal” body looks like.

She said: "There's a kind of circularity to it. The field was built within Western institutions, it's largely still maintained by Western institutions and so anything that challenges that looks, to some gatekeepers, like it doesn't belong.

Dr Jamie Chan, Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Brighton. (Image: University of Brighton)

"That has to change."

The University of Brighton team is now launching a seminar series, funded by the British Psychological Society, to bring together international researchers and community partners to critically examine and diversify the field of body image research.

Public health messaging and clinical guidelines shaped by biased research may fail to support the needs of people from different backgrounds, even influencing health behaviours such as skin lightening or other appearance-related interventions.

The seminars can be booked at eventbrite.com/cc/bps-2026-summer-seminar-series-4827978.

Dr Chan explained that cultural differences have been overlooked.

She said: "In the past, we tried to understand body dissatisfaction through the thin ideal, but within Black culture for instance, the ideal is often about being curvy and shapely.

"When you apply a white measure to a different experience, you're not measuring their culturally unique body image.

"You're measuring how much they share or don't share white women's body image."