This piece was first published in The Sydney Morning Herald on January 27th, 2023.

Over the past 10 years, my work as a body image advocate has taken me from the Mount Panorama racetrack in Bathurst to Google HQ in Silicon Valley and everywhere in between.

But there is nothing quite as surreal as standing on the stage at the National Arboretum in Canberra, facing some of Australia’s most impressive humans (not to mention the prime minister) to accept the Australian of the Year award.

One night in 2013, I hit “post” on a pair of unconventional before and after photos on Facebook and went to bed. I had no idea what that mouse click was about to spark – I just wanted to make my friends feel better about their bodies.

I woke up to find my Facebook feed full of likes and comments, and the photos have now been seen by more than 100 million people around the world. That moment was the beginning of the journey that brought me to the Canberra stage.

Since then, I’ve taken my message of “embrace” around the world through documentaries, books, keynotes, podcasts and more, reaching millions globally. While I am immensely proud of what we have been able to achieve so far, there is more work to be done. Fortunately, we now have the scientific evidence we need, research-backed resources and the support of so many people who are already making change with us.

Our bodies are extraordinary when you think about it – and yet, we have been taught to hate them. For decades, we have been bombarded with misery-inducing messages that we are too big, too small, too short, too tall, too dark, too fair … and it’s destroying us. Most worryingly, it’s destroying our young people.

A glance at the research shows that we’re in the grip of a paediatric health emergency. Nearly four in five young Australians between the ages of 16 and 25 report body image distress, a number that has more than doubled in the past 14 years.

Young people with a negative body image are 24 times more likely to develop depression and anxiety, and are at an increased risk of eating disorders and suicidal thoughts. They are also more likely to engage in using alcohol and other drugs, smoking, steroid use and self-harm.

On the flipside, those who appreciate their bodies are more likely to adopt positive health behaviours like engaging in physical activity, eating fruit and vegetables and even wearing sunscreen.

We now have strong research that shows that making people feel shame about their bodies doesn’t help them engage in positive health behaviours. It is fair to say that over the past 20 years we’ve had the approach wrong. It’s hurting us, and it’s hurting our kids because you can’t look after something you don’t love.

It’s time to change how we think about our bodies – and it starts with each of us.

By learning to embrace our bodies, we can be roles models to all the young people in our lives – our daughters and sons, nieces and nephews, grandsons and granddaughters.

We can begin to question those messages that have bombarded us for so long and forget about what we’ve been told we “should” look like.

We can start to advocate for change in the settings and environment around us for a truly comprehensive approach that addresses these issues at an individual, community, organisational and societal level.

We can replace hate and loathing with joy and gratitude for what our bodies can do.

I know because I’ve done it. And trust me, you don’t need to be an activist, an expert or health professional to be part of the change. All it takes is a shift in your perspective, and you can start that shift today.

For me, that moment came when I realised I wanted a better future for my daughter, one where she was free to make her mark in the world without being consumed by how she looked.

I plan to use the honour I received this week to get this message out to as many people in Australia as possible, and create embedded change that will support health and wellbeing.

First on the list is the release of the Embrace Kids Classroom Program as a free, curriculum-aligned resource available to every primary and secondary school. Our mission is to reach 1 million Australian schoolchildren over the next three years.

Big change can feel overwhelming, but this is too important not to tackle as a community. Every one of us has the opportunity to be part of this change and lead by example for the next generation, by showing them what’s possible when we embrace our amazing bodies.

It starts with us. It starts today with those small shifts in our perspective.