People in Malta top the list for the most positive body image among 65 nations in a newly published study on body appreciation across the world.

More than 56,968 people were interviewed for the study, by the Anglia Ruskin University. 

Malta, Taiwan, and Bangladesh reported the highest body appreciation. The largest negative differences were observed for Australia, India and the UK.

The study recorded large differences across nations and languages in latent body appreciation, while differences across gender identities and age groups were negligible-to-small.

Additionally, greater body appreciation was significantly associated with higher life satisfaction, being single (versus being married or in a committed relationship), and greater rurality (versus urbanicity).

Across a subset of nations where nation-level data were available, greater body appreciation was also significantly associated with greater cultural distance from the United States and greater relative income inequality.

According to the WHO, Malta ranks second for adult overweight and obesity among the 53 countries measured, third for children aged 5-9 and second for children and adolescents aged 10-19. Malta and Turkey are the only two countries where over 60 per cent of men and women are overweight or obese.

The figures reflect similar conclusions reached by Eurostat studies.

Still, the Maltese appear to be punching above their weight when it comes to body confidence, which is defined by how a person feels about the way they look.

10 most body-confident countries

1.    Malta

2.    Taiwan

3.    Bangladesh

4.    Kazakhstan

5.    South Korea

6.    Philippines

7.    Egypt

8.    Iraq

9.    Poland

10.    South Africa

10 least body-confident countries

1.    Australia

2.    India

3.    UK

4.    Ireland

5.    Ukraine

6.    Germany

7.    USA

8.    China

9.    France

10.    Brazil

In a statement, lead author Viren Swami said the study was one of the largest on body image ever carried out. It was brought about by a collaborative research effort involving over 250 scientists across the world.

“Our finding that greater body appreciation is associated with better psychological well-being highlights the importance of developing ways to promote more positive body image globally.”

Swami noted that people who live in urban areas may feel stronger pressure to conform to body ideals promoted by Western society. It was also notable that people from countries considered culturally different to the United States appeared to have broadly greater body appreciation.

“This research also highlights what can be achieved when scientists from across the world come together to achieve a common goal,” Swami said.