Visions of self

It’s not your personality that matters, dear

Australia is focused on looks, with 82% of Eye respondents agreeing that ‘when I look good, I feel good’. It’s not just an issue of self-confidence – 73% agree that ‘people who look good get more respect that those who don’t look good’. On a scale of one to ten, 22% of Aussies rated themselves a seven or above for looks, while the average was 5.15. By comparison, the average rating for our own Miss Universe, Jennifer Hawkins, was eight out of ten.

Looks are not the same as health. While 40% of Australians say they exercise to look good, 74% say they exercise to be healthy. 48% of women and 30% of men say they have been on a diet at least once in the last 12 months. Generally, Australians think their health is going downhill, with 54% thinking they’re less healthy than five years ago, 60% thinking their fitness has declined in that time and 64% believing they don’t exercise enough.