‘I felt pressure to look a certain way’

The lead guitarist of the Vamps says the pressure to conform to body stereotypes has had a lasting detrimental impact on his mental health.

James Brittain-McVey revealed the pressures of trying to looking a certain way began to take over his life as a teenager.

“The first thoughts I’d have when I would wake up in the morning is: ‘Should I be eating that? Am I going to be able to get to the gym?'”

Brittain-McVey was giving evidence to the health committee’s first session on the impact of body image on physical and mental health.