"Those words haunted me throughout my adolescence," says Hannah, now 24.

"Being the tallest in my class and developing early meant that I was always 'different' from the other children", she recalls.

But her experience is not uncommon, YMCA research finds, with more than half (55%) of children saying they had been bullied about the way they looked.

For its research — In Your Face — the youth charity surveyed 1,006 youngsters aged 11 to 16 across the UK and carried out focus groups in 12 different UK locations.

It found that of those who had experienced appearance-based taunting:

  • 60% had tried to change the way they looked
  • 53% said they became anxious
  • 29% said they said they became depressed
  • 24% said they had reduced the amount they ate

The YMCA is urging secondary schools in England and Wales to make use of its body confidence campaign toolkit which offers guidance, materials and advice on teaching about improving young people's body confidence.

Hannah, who now volunteers for the YMCA to raise awareness about body confidence, adds: "Difference and diversity should be celebrated, and young people should always be reminded that in the future, colleges and universities are going to look at grades, efforts and personal achievements, rather than popularity and appearance.

Read the full article about how much appearance-based bullying affects teens by Katherine Sellgren at BBC.