Would you give up a year of your life to achieve the ideal appearance?

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to give a guest lecture at another university on appearance psychology. The audience included staff members across psychology and a range of other disciplines, so I tried to keep the talk engaging for a broad crowd, rather than diving too deeply into specific body image or weight stigma theories.

One of the stats I shared during the talk was this:

Around half of people surveyed would give up up to five years of their life to achieve the ideal appearance (Dove Global Report, 2024).

Sometimes, this shocks people. Often, it doesn't. After all, statistically, about half the room I'm presenting to would make the same trade-off. But during this lecture, I received a question I genuinely didn't anticipate, and it sparked a fascinating discussion:

"Which years are they imagining giving up? Wouldn't most people choose the final years of older age anyway?"

Initially, I was thrown. It wasn't a question I'd prepared for, and my answer in the moment wasn't the most eloquent. But I've been thinking about it ever since. And three things come to mind: here's how I would answer that question now.

1. The question actually reconfirmed the stat — not challenged it.

My first (short) answer would be: yes.

Most people probably imagine giving up their final years, their "older" years, their "less healthy" years.

But importantly, the audience member who asked the question essentially confirmed the stat in real time. He would give up years of his life for the "perfect" appearance.

What this demonstrated to the audience, more powerfully than any slide could, was that this isn't an abstract finding from some distant sample of unknown participants. It's us. It's our colleagues. Our friends. Our peers. And although the original stat came from a sample of women, this audience member was a man, showing that (some) men would also trade off years for the appearance ideal.

2. Yes, people rationalise which years they'd give up — but that's precisely the point.

People in the original study would have likely rationalised their answers, too. Most people don't imagine sacrificing their vibrant, joyful years. They imagine:

• "I don't need to live past 80."

• "I'd give up the last five years."

• "With my family history, I'll probably get sick anyway."

• "These are hypothetical years, I won't feel the loss."

• "My life will improve now, even if it's shorter."

And honestly? Some of these rationalisations are understandable.

We do know that people whose appearance is closer to the societal ideal benefit from privileges in our society, such as:

• less appearance discrimination,

• better treatment in healthcare,

• more social acceptance, and

• sometimes better job opportunities.

So yes, the rationalisations are real. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't be concerned.

3. Most importantly: people give up the quality of their years right now.

This is, to me, the heart of it.

We don't know how long we'll live. We don't know what our final years will look like. But we do know that millions of people are giving up the quality of their present lives in pursuit of the appearance ideal, through:

• extreme dieting and chronic restriction,

• disordered eating and compulsive exercise,

• risky or poorly regulated cosmetic procedures,

• untested drugs with severe side effects, and

• the constant mental load of body surveillance.

And I think most people know, deep down, that these choices are not about health. Some people believe they're doing it for health. And sure, for some, that's part of it.

But when we're talking about risky surgeries, unlicensed injections, or off-label medications with serious side effects, it becomes almost impossible to maintain the "it's for my health" narrative. At that point, it is very clearly about appearance (though this conversation is complicated somewhat by the very real threat and cost of appearance discrimination).

So what does this stat actually tell us?

At first, as I stood there answering this unexpected question, I interpreted it as a challenge, a "gotcha" moment, an attempt to undermine the prevalence of the finding.

But in reality, the stat itself wasn't questioned at all. If anything, the audience member reinforced it.

The real question he posed wasn't "Is this true?"; it was "Is this actually a problem?".

And to that, I say: It depends, but for many people, yes, it absolutely is.

How you rationalise giving up years of your life is your decision. Your body, your life, your choice. After years of dabbling in health psychology, I can confidently say: most people know whether their behaviours support or harm their health. Knowledge is rarely the issue.

We all make trade-offs. Some are "good", some are "bad", most sit somewhere in between. A bit of exercise is good; compulsive exercise is not. A glass of wine is lovely; a bottle every night is less so.

Life is a balancing act, and health is only one part of it (a part that is largely outside of our control). Life is joy, connection, coping, experimenting, trying new things, surviving. But the appearance ideal? That's a different beast.

Because achieving it doesn't guarantee more happiness, let alone more health. And the road towards it, for so many, is paved with self-punishment, restriction, shame, debt, pain, and risk.

In the end…

The statistic isn't just a number. It's a mirror. It shows us how deeply appearance ideals run in our culture, how much power they have over our decisions, how much of our joy, freedom, and time we are willing to sacrifice.

And maybe the more important question isn't "Would you give up a year of your life to achieve the ideal appearance?" but "Why do we live in a society where that feels like a reasonable trade-off?".

Perhaps that's where the real conversation begins.

That's all for now—thank you for being here and for making a commitment to make movement spaces more inclusive for all bodies!

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