Gok boosts teen body confidence at Downing Street

How To Look Good Naked's Gok Wan has handed in a petition at Downing Street, asking for teenagers to be given lessons in body confidence.

The presenter wants pupils to be taught about normal body shapes and how to have pride in their own figure in a bid to counter the perfect images they see of celebrities and models.

Gok handed over a 45,000 signature petition asking Education Secretary Ed Balls to include the lessons in the curriculum as part of the Personal, Social and Health Education syllabus.

He was accompanied by 21-year-old Shona Collins, who won Gok's Miss Naked Beauty 2008 contest and has been investigating body image among British teenagers.

Gok said: "Lack of body confidence has become a national epidemic. Our survey revealed an alarming number of adolescents are struggling with basic body identity.

"We need to teach the next generation that what we see in the media is not a fair representation of the real body.

"I think that if we get into the schools and teach these kids about what is a healthy body and how all different kinds of bodies can exist in the same space then they will have a lot more acceptance for themselves and each other."