Body Image and Age

What Age Group is Most Affected by Beauty Standards?

Have you ever gone back and watched a Disney movie or a show you used to love as a kid and thought, “Whoa, I had no idea this had so many comments about weight or beauty standards”? I know I have. Maybe you’ve brushed it off—“It’s just a show for kids,” right? But it’s important to know that by age 3, children have already begun internalizing messages and stereotypes about body size and worthiness.

Yes, you read that right. Children as young as toddlers are already starting to absorb and act on what they hear from adults around them. And considering how pervasive the food, wellness, and beauty industries are, there are countless ways that adults unintentionally send unhelpful or unhealthy messages to children.

While this post will explore how different age groups are affected by beauty standards, the deeper question it answers is: Which age group is most affected?

The Impact of Beauty Standards Across Age Groups

Children (Ages 5–12)
While kids as young as 3 may be aware of messaging around weight and beauty, it’s usually around ages 5 or 6 that they begin to differentiate between positive and negative representations. Even seemingly innocent titles—like Pretty Pretty Princess, which centers around putting on makeup—or characters like Ursula in The Little Mermaid, who is portrayed as “ugly” and in a larger body, subtly teach children how our culture links body size with attractiveness and worth.

Adolescents and Young Adults (Ages 13–25)
Body image issues tend to peak during adolescence. Both boys and girls go through significant physical changes during puberty, often becoming hyper-aware of their appearance in ways they hadn’t been before. These changes can feel confusing, distressing, or even shameful—especially when teens don’t feel safe talking about them with parents or older siblings. As a result, some may engage in disordered or unhealthy behaviors in an attempt to control their appearance and maintain a pre-puberty body.

During this stage of life, mental health concerns like anxiety, depression, and eating disorders are also on the rise. Exposure to media and social media tends to increase, amplifying messages about the “ideal” way to look in order to be attractive, worthy, or socially accepted.

Certain groups are more vulnerable to internalizing these messages—particularly LGBTQ+ youth and teens involved in competitive sports. Research shows that 80–90% of individuals in these groups are impacted by negative body image.

Adults (Ages 26–50)
You might think that body image struggles ease during adulthood—and for some people, that’s true. Many men and women in their 30s and 40s report greater body confidence and self-acceptance. However, this age group often goes through major physical transitions that can affect body image, including pregnancy, injuries, a decrease in activity, and the visible signs of aging.

Wrinkles, weight changes, and other shifts can put pressure on adults to “combat aging” and maintain a youthful appearance. While the internal distress may not be as overt as in adolescence, body image concerns still linger in subtle and not-so-subtle ways.

Older Adults (Ages 50+)
By the time people reach older adulthood, the pressure to look young often begins to fade. Although the beauty industry continues to promote products and procedures to preserve youthfulness, many older adults find peace and resilience in self-acceptance. Still, there’s a complex emotional layer—especially for older women—who often describe feeling invisible in a society that prioritizes youthful beauty. There’s both sadness and relief in this shift: a sense of being overlooked, but also freedom from the pressures of appearance-based validation.

Which Age Group is Most Affected?

While no age group is immune to beauty standards and body image struggles, adolescence is typically the most vulnerable time. The combination of physical development, hormonal shifts, and increased exposure to media makes it a perfect storm for body dissatisfaction to take hold.

The good news is that there’s growing momentum to challenge these harmful standards. Advocacy groups and new legislation are working to limit social media filters, promote realistic representation in media, and create a world where all bodies—regardless of size, shape, or appearance—are welcomed and valued.