Heat wave, vacations approaching, the beach in sight: every year, pressure sets in at the idea that we will have to endure other people’s stares on light clothing in the street as well as at the beach. On social media, the gap is wide between #bodypositive accounts that celebrate love handles, cellulite, and “nonstandard” bodies, and the wave of the summer body, its cohort of fitness influencers, and its before/after shots. Between the two, French people, and especially French women, are struggling.
In this match between “Body positive” and the “summer body,” who comes out on top? The acceptance of bodies proclaimed in discourse, or the injunction to the perfect body ? Has the body-positive movement, fighting against standardized ideals that social media endlessly parades, really had an impact on French people’s relationship with their bodies in the era of the flood of perfect bodies on social media ? And more broadly, what has changed in French people’s relationship with their weight over the past few decades? These are the questions this survey aims to answer.
Produced by Ifop for Darwin Nutrition based on a nationally representative sample of the most robust individuals (3,004 people), this study, which has the merit of being supported by a series of historical comparisons, makes it possible to measure, over half a century, the real evolution of body image concerns among the French. And the verdict does not support reassurance. Quite the opposite: never, in the past fifty years, have the French felt so much “too fat” as in the era of social media. Body image insecurity is growing, now affecting men as well, and the body-positivity proclaimed on social media has, in practice, still not undermined thinness culture.
Key figures
I. In the era of social media, weight is a much greater source of concern than it was about fifty years ago
1. The judgment French women make about their figure is much harsher than it was thirty years ago : 61% of French women now consider themselves too fat, compared with 41% in 2001 and 36% in 1997. Men also consider themselves much fatter (48%) than in 2001 (34%).
2. Today, French women’s dissatisfaction with their weight is almost twice as high (63%) as it was about thirty years ago (37% in 1998). Dissatisfaction with one’s weight is admittedly less common among men, but it is shared by one in two men (47%).
3. The belly is by far the main source of insecurity for French men and women. Losing belly fat is thus an aspiration that is three times stronger today (76%) than it was about fifty years ago (28% in 1979), and this is true for both men and women.
II. The arrival of summer vacation gives French men and women a boost of motivation to lose weight, especially women
4. Summer makes twice as many French people “weight-loss alert” today (40%) as it did about fifty years ago (22% in 1979), while affecting far more women (47%) than men (33%).
5. The desire to lose weight before vacation is twice as strong today (38%) as it was at the end of the 1970s (23%), while remaining highly gendered: nearly one in two French women (46%) wants to lose pounds before summer vacation, compared with three out of ten men (30%).
6. And this desire to lose pounds before summer vacation is not limited to overweight women: it is also shared by one-third of French women with a “normal” BMI (33%) and even 13% of women whose weight is below normal.
III. Adopting a healthier diet remains the preferred slimming solution alongside sports
7. While most French people who want to lose their pounds before summer plan above all to simply eat healthier (85%), nearly half (47%) also consider going on a strict diet, especially women (50%, compared with 43% of men).
8. Nearly three-quarters of French people who want to lose their pounds before summer plan to play sports, do gym workouts, or lift weights (71%), especially among the youngest, wealthiest, and most educated segments of the population.
9. Taking GLP-1-type medication is considered by 10% of French people who want to lose their pounds; among women, this option is gaining popularity among the young (14% of Gen Z) and daily consumers of beauty content (21%) or fitness influencers (19%).
IV. Support for body positivity and addiction to “beauty/fitness” social media content are far from being antithetical behaviors
10. Exposure among young people to images of standardized bodies on social media is massive : 66% of women under 35 consult beauty content there, 62% follow sports influencers, and 51% view images of “perfect” bodies they want to resemble.
11. Much more pronounced among women (67%) than among men (55%), this attention to one’s weight goes hand in hand with regularly viewing “beauty” content or images of “perfect” bodies (88% among daily viewers, compared with 68% among non-viewers).
12. Support for the “body positive” movement is mixed (52%), except among the youngest (74%). But this support is not incompatible with heavy use of social media : body-positivity values are shared by 81% of women who watch beauty content every day, compared with 50% of women who never watch it.
François Kraus’s perspective, from IFOP
Nearly ten years after #MeToo and the rise of feminist discourse about the body, and in the midst of the “body-positive” moment, one might have expected a calmer relationship between the French and their weight. This study reveals the opposite: never, in half a century, have they felt so much “too fat.”
This hardening has three new faces. First, it is becoming more masculine, through the belly, a sign that aesthetic pressure is no longer reserved for women; then it is becoming detached from actual body size: a third of thin women still want to lose weight before summer, proof that the norm targets an ideal, not health. Finally, it is being reshaped in its solutions, with stigmatizing dieting giving way to “eating well” and the gym, while Ozempic, still marginal, is introducing the prospect of medically assisted thinness.
Remaining is the final gap: that of a body positivity supported only in words, but which does not reduce insecurities, diets, or the consumption of “perfect” bodies. It all happens as if acceptance of bodies had become a rallying cry that one readily shares… without ever stopping thinking one is too fat. More tolerant in words, the French are no less, in the secrecy of the mirror, more self-conscious than ever.
Darwin Nutrition’s perspective on the study
“We observe that the French have adopted a certain number of good habits when it comes to losing weight. Eating healthier and exercising are indeed the two most effective and, above all, most sustainable pillars for losing weight, or at least for feeling better in your body (because let’s remember, exercise alone does not make you lose weight!). Despite their short-term effectiveness, strict diets have never worked for sustainable weight loss, since the vast majority of people regain the weight lost at the end of the diet, and often even more!”
Quentin Molinié
A. In the age of social media, dissatisfaction with one’s weight is at its highest in a quarter century, and a complex that is becoming more male
1 – French women who are overweight are nearly twice as numerous as they were about thirty years ago
61% of French women now consider themselves too fat, compared with 41% in 2001 and 36% in 1997. This growing dissatisfaction confirms the increasingly harsh view women as a whole have held of their appearance since the start of the century, with previous studies already highlighting, for example, an increase in the number of French women who feel self-conscious about certain parts of their bodies (70% in 2023, compared with 50% in 2011[1]).
This feeling of being overweight does not spare men either: one in two men (48%) considers himself too fat, compared with one in three (34%) 25 years ago. But unlike men, women start judging their weight critically as soon as they leave adolescence—44% of women under 25 consider themselves too fat, compared with 16% of men of the same age—and not necessarily even when they are very heavy: 36% of women with a “normal” BMI feel they are too fat, as do 18% of “thin” women.
The Ifop perspective
Far outpacing the increase in body size observed in France over the same period (38% in 1997 to 49% in 2024[2]), this growing self-deprecation about weight seems to us symptomatic of an inflation of the thinness norm, fueled by digital overexposure to perfect bodies that widens, for many, the gap between the real body and the ideal body.
2 – French women are much more uncomfortable today about their weight than before the era of screens and social media
Today, French women’s dissatisfaction with their weight is almost twice as high (63%) as it was about thirty years ago (37% in 1998). This weight dissatisfaction contributes to the rise in women’s overall dissatisfaction with their bodies, observed in other studies (26% in 2005, compared with 52% in 2023[3]).
In a country like France, where being underweight is more highly valued for women than in the rest of Europe[4], denigrating one’s body shape is still much stronger among women (63%) than among men (47%). Among women, this dissatisfaction with weight peaks in middle age (72% of women aged 35-49 are dissatisfied), but above all, it affects not only overweight women: nearly half (43%) of women with a “normal” body type are dissatisfied with their weight.
Ifop’s perspective
If this study confirms how much the “weight constraint” continues to weigh more heavily on women than on men, regardless of their actual body size, it also sheds light on a certain masculinization of this kind of insecurity, a sign that in the age of social media, men are no longer spared the injunction to be thin.
3 – A highly gendered geography of weight insecurity: the belly brings the sexes together, the lower body separates them
The stomach and the waist seem to occupy a place that is both central and growing in this weight-related complex. As strong among men (72%) as among women (78%), the desire to slim down the stomach is thus three times stronger in the population (76%) than it was about fifty years ago (28% in 1979). The proportion of French people wanting to lose weight from the waist has meanwhile doubled between 1979 (23%) and 2026 (48%).
The other areas of the body (buttocks, thighs, hips) do not concern them as much in this respect and have not changed as much in 50 years. By contrast, thighs, hips, and buttocks remain overwhelmingly female complexes: 33% of women would like, for example, to slim down their buttocks, compared with 10% of men.
This desire to slim down the stomach cuts across all ages and body types; 68% of women of average build share it. The lower body, meanwhile, remains the object of a gaze directed at women, regardless of age or social background.
Ifop’s view
Body anxiety is becoming more masculine, through the abdomen, that “stomach” so highly valued by the culture of core training, the gym, and the male summer body. The female body, meanwhile, remains scrutinized “by area,” symptomatic of the persistence of the objectification of women’s bodies[5], which the post-#MeToo feminist wave brought to light without making it disappear.
B. The “summer body”: an injunction that has intensified for decades and weighs above all on women
4 – The “swimsuit effect” is much stronger today than in the past.
The French heading into “weight-loss alert” as summer approaches are twice as numerous today (40%) as they were about fifty years ago (22% in 1979). And this tendency to worry about one’s figure with the arrival of summer affects women much more (47%) than men (33%).
It is all the stronger when you are young (54% of women ages 18-34) and when you read beauty content (80% of daily consumers).
5 – One third of French people now take action to lose weight, especially women
In general, about one third (32%) of the population usually tries to lose weight, twice as many as in 1979 (15%). Currently, 34% of women and 29% of men are making efforts to slim down.
The effort is more common among young people (39% of those ages 18-34). Notably, support for body positivity changes nothing: supporters of this movement, which fights the standardized body image promoted on social media, make just as much effort (34%) as its opponents (34%).
6 – The injunction targets “normal” bodies: one third of slim women still want to lose weight before summer
The desire to lose weight before vacation is twice as strong today (38%) as it was in the late 1970s (23%), while remaining highly gendered : nearly one in two French women (46%) wants to lose pounds before summer vacation, compared with three in ten men (30%).
If it rises with BMI, the desire to lose weight before summer remains massive where it is not medically warranted: one-third of women with a normal weight (33%), versus half as many men of the same build, want to slim down before summer. Among women, this aspiration to lose those extra kilos before vacation reinforces analyses of the class relationship to the body[6], with a very clear upper socio-economic profile (executives, business leaders, graduates of higher education, etc.).
Ifop’s view
The feminist critique of the injunction to a “beach body” has not been enough to defuse the “summer body” mechanism: it still works as a seasonal ritual that, every spring, asks women first and foremost to account for their figures before the ordeal of the beach, regardless of their actual body size.
C. Weight-loss solutions: “eating healthy” overtakes strict dieting while Ozempic remains niche
7 – Dieting is a practice that is twice as common as it was fifty years ago, but it is giving way to “eating healthy”
Twice as common today (45%) as it was about fifty years ago (21% in 1979), dieting with the goal of losing weight is a largely female experience: women are twice as likely (56%) as men (32%) to have tried it at least once in their lives.
But for this summer, it is now “eating healthier without strict dieting” (85%) that dominates the intentions of people who want to lose weight, well ahead of dieting proper (47%).
The pursuit of dieting peaks among women in managerial roles (67%) and rises with BMI. But it has plateaued since 2015 (44%, then 45%): it is “healthy” that has taken over.
Ifop’s perspective
It seems that what we are seeing is less a decline in diet culture than its rebranding under the banner of “healthy eating.” The stigmatizing diet gives way to a diffuse injunction toward healthy eating, more consensual but still strongly marked by social class.
8 – Sport: a massive, democratized recourse… and one that is gender-equal
71% of these candidates for “ summer slimness ” plan to do sports, exercise, or weight training, as many men as women (71%). This option is more popular among younger people, graduates, and higher-income groups.
The gym and weight training are emerging as the “active” path to transformation, as opposed to deprivation.
Ifop’s perspective
The shift from “losing” to “sculpting oneself” says something about the times: people no longer just lose weight, they “transform themselves.” For men in particular, weight training offers the socially valued form of body work, the one that turns male bodily anxiety into a performance project.
9 – Ozempic: still a niche, but a niche that inspires loyalty
Willingness to use GLP-1 drugs (Ozempic) remains marginal: only 10% of candidates for summer slimness are considering it, far behind diet (85%) or sport (71%). Marketed in France since late 2024 and reimbursed for obesity since June 2026[7], these treatments therefore have success that should be put into perspective.
This highly medicalized option is enjoying some success among young people (14% of Gen Z), in the Paris metropolitan area (19%), and among beauty content enthusiasts (21%). Above all, it is concentrated among those who have already taken it: nearly all current users plan to continue. The drug builds loyalty more than it attracts new users.
Ifop’s perspective
The “Ozempic revolution” is not yet a mass aesthetic phenomenon, but rather a concentrated and self-reinforcing use. Caution, moreover, with this 10%, which is measured in terms of intention, among a population already motivated and exposed to social desirability.
D. Is body positivity dead? The proclaimed acceptance does not disarm either insecurities or thinness culture
10 – Massive exposure to normative content, especially among young women
Women under 35 are immersed in images of perfect bodies: 66% consult beauty content, 62% influencer accounts in sports/fitness, and 51% look at images of “perfect” bodies they would like to resemble. Among women aged 18-24, consumption of beauty content rises to 73%.
This exposure goes hand in hand with self-control: 88% of daily consumers of this content say they watch their weight, compared with 68% of others. A sign of the times, 16% have already consulted influencers… generated by artificial intelligence. Already widely documented (e.g., Dove’s self-esteem project), the correlation between social media use and body dissatisfaction is clearly confirmed.
Far from opposing each other, adherence to body positivity and consumption of normative content go hand in hand: 81% of daily female beauty-content consumers adhere to body-positivity values, compared with 50% of non-consumers.
Note that body positivity first appeals to young women (74% of those aged 18-34), college graduates, and women on the left.
Ifop’s perspective
Far from contradicting each other, preaching bodily diversity and scrutinizing one’s reflection coexist without friction in the same news feed. Indeed, it is the same people—young, feminine, connected—who celebrate acceptance of all bodies and who are most exposed to thinness ideals.
11 – Body positivity with little effect on diets or insecurities
The French public’s opinion remains mixed regarding body positivity (52% support it), but young people aged 18-34 overwhelmingly support it (74% of those aged 18-34). This support has no impact on behavior: the number of women who want to lose weight by this summer is just as high among supporters of the movement (45%) as among those who oppose it (46%).
Supporting body positivity does not reduce either the feeling of being “too fat”, concern about weight, or the desire to slim down before summer.
Ifop’s perspective
More of a progressive identity marker than a lever for emancipation, body positivity works as a discursive veneer placed over unchanged behaviors, and is largely embraced by those whom stigma spares the most. Beneath the rhetoric of acceptance, shame about the fat body continues to operate quietly.
TO CITE THIS STUDY, YOU MUST AT MINIMUM USE THE FOLLOWING FORMULATION:
“Ifop study for Darwin Nutrition conducted online from May 17 to 21, 2026, among a sample of 3,004 people, representative of the French population aged 18 and over.”
About Darwin Nutrition
Darwin Nutrition is an independent media outlet dedicated to nutrition, founded in 2019. Its editorial team is made up of health and food professionals, scientists, and specialized authors.
Darwin Nutrition also produces the podcast Food Revolutions! dedicated to the political and sociological issues surrounding food.
Press contacts
François Kraus (Ifop) – Tel.: 06 61 00 37 76 – francois.kraus@ifop.com
Léo Major (Ifop) – Tel.: 01 72 34 94 42 – leo.major@ifop.com
Quentin Molinié (Darwin Nutrition) – quentin@darwin-nutrition.fr
Francis Aubouin (IFOP-ISSEO) – Tel.: 06 88 09 76 70 – francis.aubouin@ifop.com
