How we learnt to LOVE OUR BODIES

Nearly a quarter of all women say they feel uncomfortable in their own skin.* We speak to four who’ve learnt to embrace their physique

- FIONA KINLOCH

‘I KNEW I HAD TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE’

Anupa Roper, 43, lives in Countesthorpe with her husband, Greg, 47, and their two children, Maya, 11, and Ayden, 10.

I was at secondary school when I first noticed my body wasn’t developing like my friends’. Their childlike, skinny frames began to fill out proportionally as they developed curves, but mine stayed the same. When my PE teacher referred to me as ‘sparrow legs, I was taken aback. From that moment on, I tried to divert attention from my skinny legs, always wearing trousers in a bid to hide them.

After having my children, Maya in May 2009, and Ayden in October 2010, I maintained my size-6 figure, but my ‘sparrow legs left me with no confidence. My husband, Greg, told me I was lucky to have such a slender physique but I just saw my boyish figure as a huge flaw.

It wasn’t until the kids got older that I started to readdress the way I saw myself and not let my insecurities dictate to me how I should dress or how I should feel. I didn’t want my children growing up with a complex about their bodies, and I knew I had to lead by example.

I began wearing skirts and dresses showing my legs, and even got a few compliments from friends. My confidence grew and, determined to help other people embrace every part of themselves, I wrote a book.

Sparrowlegs, released earlier this year, seeks to help children with body-confidence issues and teach them that, although we might all be different, we are all worthy of the same love and respect.