More than one in seven Scottish adults has had suicidal thoughts or feelings over concerns about their physical appearance, according to a study.
The poll by the Mental Health Foundation (MHF) Scotland and YouGov shows millions across the country are deeply worried about their body image.
It has been released as part of Mental Health Awareness Week, which this year is exploring how we relate to our bodies.
The survey of 1,012 Scottish adults found just over one-third said they had felt anxious because of their image.
One-quarter said they had felt “disgusted”, 24% had suffered “shame” and 16% admitted to suicidal thoughts or feelings.
Social media and advertising are at the centre of the problem, says MHF Scotland, which also wants to see changes in the way bodies are portrayed.
“Our poll has uncovered that millions of adults across Scotland are struggling with concerns about their body image,” said Julie Cameron, head of programmes at MHF Scotland.
“For some people, this is potentially very severe with large numbers of people saying they have self-harmed or had suicidal thoughts and feelings.
“Many people identified social media as an important factor causing them to worry about their body image and the majority of respondents felt the Government needed to take more action.”
The findings identified women to be more affected by body image issues than men, with 11 per cent saying they have “deliberately hurt themselves” compared to four per cent of men.
However, results also showed large numbers of men were no stranger to negative feelings, with over a quarter having felt depressed.
Paul Browett, 35, from Glasgow, said that the rise of social media and online advertising had helped to fuel his own insecurities about his body. He said: “I think the rise of social media, TV and celebrities have all created a pressure in society to aspire to a certain body.
"At times I’ve been unhappy with my body which has affected my confidence; I have found myself becoming jealous of others due to this and can result in me being sensitive or argumentative.”
Just over one fifth of all Scottish adults and nearly half of 18-24 year olds said images on social media had caused them to worry about their bodies, and just over two fifths of the latter said images in advertising had a similar impact.
MHF Scotland is now calling on the UK government to take action, including regulation of social media and more powers for the Advertising Standards Authority.
“If left unregulated, advertising will continue to present unattainable idealised bodies as aspirational. This is harming the mental health of millions,” Ms Cameron added.
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