What Searching for the ‘Perfect’ Body Does to Us [Video]

Experts share what the search for the ‘perfect body’ does to one’s mental and physical health for SANCA Drug Awareness Week 24 – 30 June.

South Africa (24 June 2024) – Severe risks to physical and mental health – including addiction, psychotic episodes, stomach ailments and eating disorders – are the dangerous side-effects of society’s obsession with the “perfect body”, leading to rising incidences of abuse of weight-loss drugs.

South African healthcare professionals have raised the alarm on the long-term health impacts of misuse of weight-loss drugs, taken in higher than recommended doses or used without a prescription and proper medical care for planned weight loss.

With almost half (45.3%) of South Africans over the age of 15 being “highly dissatisfied” with their body size,[i] the risk of abuse of weight-loss medications is likely to be high, said Dr Kate Mawson, member of the South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP).

She said pervasive images of …