A new study by a leading health and wellness brand has revealed the cities in the UK where we feel happiest in our bodies.

With pressures from social media, TV and advertising continuing to make people question how they look, this has led to a nation of many feeling increasingly self-conscious. In fact the research found that 70 per cent have become more self-conscious this year.

The research by Scandinavian health and beauty brand New Nordic polled Brits about their favourite body parts, how they feel about their body and what they’re worried about in terms of ageing. Of those polled, 75 per cent have a favourite body part and 70 per cent feel positive about their body.

Broken down into regions, cities with the highest levels of body positivity are Belfast, Newcastle and Manchester where over 80 per cent love their bodies.

Where in the UK we feel happiest in our bodies;

Belfast – 94%
Newcastle – 84%
Manchester – 83%
London – 79%
Nottingham – 77%
Edinburgh – 75%
Cardiff – 74%
Southampton – 71%
Bristol – 71%
Leeds – 70%
In the Irish city where the UK are happiest in their bodies, Belfast residents love their eyes the most (53%), followed by their hair (24%), skin (24%) and bottom (23%).

Geordies are second happiest with their bodies at 84 per cent. This north eastern city love their eyes (28%), hair (19%) and bust (16%) the most.

For Mancunians where 83 per cent love their body, eyes were also the most popular part (40%). This was followed by hair (22%), lips (18%) and skin (17%).

The research also shows which age we feel happiest. As it’s commonly suggested, with age comes confidence as over 55’s are the least likely to feel self-conscious about their body.

Millennials are most likely to feel self-conscious with 88 per cent stating they have felt more concerned about their body this year than ever before. Although they feel self-conscious, they are the age group most likely to have a favourite body part (87%) with most stating their eyes (29%), hair (22%) and skin (21%) are their favourite parts.

When looking at gender differences, men and women tend to have the same favourite bits of their body. Both choose their eyes as their favourite (M 31.7%, W 31.4%), followed by hair (M 20.3%, W 20%) and bottom for men (19%) and lips for women (16%).

New Nordic’s Amy Loader commented: “Although this year has put added pressure on us in more ways than one, we’re pleased to see that our results show that many Brits across the country feel happy in their body. Body positivity is a widely discussed topic with tricks of the trade being shared continuously on editing and posing techniques to distort the image of your body.

“We want to encourage even more to feel happy, and to remind them that your body loves you no matter what.”