78.4% of women are insecure about their own body on the beach. Among men, this percentage is 62.8%. Men are positive about both their own beach body and that of the women. Men reward themselves with an average score of 6.8 and they give women an average of 6.7. Women, on the other hand, are remarkably negative about themselves. They give themselves a 5.7, while they rate men with an average score of 5.8. This is apparent from the beach &body survey by online style guide Dresscode.nl among 1,438 Dutch men and women.
Both women and men indicate that being overweight is the reason for uncertainty. Of all women who indicate that they are insecure, 57.5% say that being overweight is the cause. Among men, this percentage is 36.4%. Other reasons for insecurity among women are cellulite and stretch marks. For men, the lack of a 'washboard' is a common reason for not feeling well, but being underweight is also a reason for men to feel insecure about their own body in swimwear.
The degree of uncertainty differs greatly within the different age groups. For example, men between the ages of 31 and 40 are most confident on the beach. Almost half of the men in this age group (47.4%) are satisfied with their bodies in beachwear. Women in the same age group are the least confident, with only 14.3% of them saying they feel comfortable.
