About Body Happy Org

Our Why

Here at The Body Happy Organisation we believe that all children in all bodies have the right to know their body is a good body.

Sadly, research shows this is not the case, and that while children are questioning their own bodies at a younger and younger age they are also judging the bodies of others.

The World Health Organisation found that children in higher weight bodies are 63% more likely to be bullied at school, and there is evidence to show that children as young as three years old can display anti-fat bias. The answer is not to change the bodies of children, but to change the culture that teaches children any type of body is wrong.

If all children knew that all bodies were good bodies, not only would they experience all the benefits associated with positive body image (improved wellbeing, reduced anxiety, better social connections and engagement in health promoting behaviours, to name just a few), they would be more likely to treat those with bodies that do not look or function like their own with respect, dignity and kindness. This is what a Body Happy world looks like, and this is our why.

Our What

We create positive body image environments for children to thrive in.

We believe poor body image is a systemic issue, requiring systemic action and our approach is centred on culture change. Our unique, whole-setting framework can be delivered in a range of ways, but importantly it’s a holistic approach focused on staff training along with resources and workshops to be used with students.

All of our resources, products, education and training programmes promote inclusion and acceptance, celebrate diversity and nurture health and wellbeing in children. 

Our Who

We are a Social Enterprise dedicated to social change. There’s a multi-disciplinary team of us, with experts from a range of different fields including health, education and media.

Our founder and Executive Director is author, campaigner and speaker Molly Forbes. Meet the full team here and read our founder story here.

Our How

We have a multi-strand approach to positive social change: arm adults with the resources and education to help children build resilience to the messages that may make them doubt their body, while challenging some of those messages so they never come for kids in the first place.

Through interactive workshops and online courses delivered in an affordable, accessible and relatable way, we educate and inform parents, guardians, teachers (and any adults who are ever around children) with practical tools and information to empower you to create Body Happy settings for the children in your care.

We also sell digital resources for use at home, school and in youth clubs, to help promote positive body image and build resilience to negative messages that may make children doubt their body. 

As well as our digital resources we also create physical products which can be useful tools in themselves, as well as lovely presents and gifts to help build body image resilience in children and teens. Check out our range of books, digital resources and gifting products in the Body Happy Shop here.  

Our Structure

We are a Community Interest Company, which means we are dedicated to creating positive social change. We operate like a business but are regulated by the CIC Regulator to make sure profits are reinvested back into the community we serve: those wishing to create positive body image environments for children. Because we are a Social Enterprise, this means we don’t have large dividends or big bonuses. Our cause is positive social change, not profit.