Girls as young as seven feel under pressure to look perfect, a new survey reveals today.

The survey of more than 1,600 girls from Girlguiding found that almost a quarter (23 per cent) of girls aged 7 to 10 felt they needed to be perfect and 15 per cent said they are embarrassed about their looks.

It revealed that girls had become less confident about their appearance. In 2011, 73 per cent of girls and women aged 7 to 21 said they were happy with how they looked - that has dropped to 61 per cent in the latest Girls’ Attitudes Survey.

The survey comes after research earlier this year warned that girls were becoming increasingly unhappy with their lives - with even three-year-olds worried about being fat.

Becky Hewitt, Girlguiding director, said: “The Girls’ Attitudes Survey demonstrates the shocking impact that focusing on girls’ appearance is having on the youngest girls in society.

“Girls have told us to stop judging them on how they look. Every day in guiding, girls inspire us with their bravery, sense of adventure and their kindness. We are calling on everyone to show girls that they are valued for who they are - not what they look like.”

The survey of 1,627 girls and young women also found:

• 10 per cent of girls aged 7 to 10 have experienced people saying mean things about their looks most of the time or often
• 36 per cent of girls in this age group say people make them think that the most important thing about them is how they look
• 38 per cent of girls in this age group feel they are not pretty enough
• 29 per cent of 7 to 8 year old girls and 41 per cent of 9 to10 year old girls agree women are judged more on their appearance than their ability

Liddy Buswell,18, a Brownie leader, said: “I’ve experienced these issues first-hand. I’ve witnessed girls unwilling to speak to groups because of how they look, I’ve heard girls saying they’ve been called names at school and aren’t confident trying new activities as a result.”

Girlguiding launched a Peer Education badge Free Being Me in 2014 to introduce girls and young women to body confidence issues. It is calling on people to compliment or praise the achievements of girls rather than their looks, using the hashtag #YouAreAmazing.

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