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Letting yourself go is bad for your health

22 June 2010

Brits are putting their health at risk as investment in personal appearance has decreased since the economic downturn.

New research conducted by Bupa to mark the launch of its flagship health and wellbeing centre in the West End of London, reveals as purse strings tighten, taking care of the way we look has become less important.

The results show the recession has hit many people’s good intentions hard, with British women today spending an average of £397 a year on their appearance* - significantly less than the £565 a year they were spending before the recession hit.

British men have been feeling the pinch too, with their average spend on looking good today totalling £235 a year compared with £253 five years ago.

Bupa’s Health and Wellbeing expert Dr Katrina Herren believes feeling good about how you look is more than skin deep.

“Feeling good about your appearance is inherent to a person’s self esteem and in turn their overall feeling of mental health and wellbeing.

“Once someone starts to neglect their appearance, they may well experience a drop in self esteem and an increase in feelings of stress and even depression. For some, spending time and money on the outside can have a significant positive effect on health and wellbeing inside, yet this is often the thing we cut out when time and money are limited.”

In fact, 31 per cent of Brits say their feelings of self-worth would improve if they spent more time and money on their appearance and a quarter (24 per cent) feel their stress levels would decrease.

Thinking about all the things we should be doing to make ourselves look good contributes to additional feelings of stress. In particular, the areas worrying Brits most about their looks are weight (58 per cent), followed by wrinkles (27 per cent) and bad smiles/teeth (26 per cent).

This is all having a knock on effect on our sex appeal, with nearly a third (30 per cent) of Brits believing their sex life and libido would improve if they paid more attention to their appearance.

Dr Herren continues: “Bupa’s new centre means people now have the chance to look – and feel – better with the aid of cosmetic procedures carried out by Bupa’s trained medical professionals. All available conveniently on the high street and for non-members too.”

The Bupa Centre, West End will offer a wide range of health and fitness assessments in addition to a choice of treatments such as microdermabrasion, skin peels and a range of cosmetic injections.

As she launches the new Bupa Centre, health and wellbeing champion Kirsty Gallacher said: “I’m passionate about health and fitness and believe you get out of your body what you put in. The more we look after ourselves on the inside and outside, the better we feel and the more able we are to cope with the stresses and strains of everyday life.”

The Bupa Centre, 53 Mortimer Street, London, W1W 8HR. www.bupa.co.uk/westend

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