‘I felt pressure to look a certain way’

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

James Brittain McVey shared how the pressures of looking a certain manner began to dominate his life as an adolescent.

“The first thoughts I’d have when I would wake up in the morning is: ‘Should I be eating that? Do I have the time and energy to go 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.