Half of gay and bisexual men suffer body confidence issues, a shocking new survey has revealed.
Out of 1,110 men questioned, 50% say they were unhappy with their body and two-thirds said that they think about their body size and shape on a daily basis, if not all the time.
What's even more startling was that nearly a third of men have undergone a surgical or non-invasive procedure to improve their looks.
The study on body image was carried out by Gay Times.
It found that nearly three out of five (59%) feel that gay and bisexual men are under pressure to look the same as adverts featuring models with chiselled abs.
Of the men questioned, 30% said they have had botox, 23% have tried laser hair removal and 17% liposuction.
The poll also revealed that the pressure to stay slim has led a quarter (25%) to try diet pills while 10% have taken laxatives to help lose weight and 15% have tried making themselves vomit after meals.
Dr Anita Sturnham told the magazine: "We are all more interested in our appearance than we like to admit.
"I don't think that this is an indication of vanity, however. I think modern society is very driven by image and beauty and therefore having concern about one's appearance is quite normal and understandable."
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In an interview with Out Magazine, drag queen and RuPaul's Drag Race finalist, Courtney Act emphasised the issues surrounding body image within the LGBT community: "Gay men have all sorts of body image issues, which I definitely know now living in West Hollywood.
"Facebook is just white, topless, muscular gay man after muscular gay man. For years I was clinging to this image of a man - I wanted to look like a DNA underwear model," she said.
But in the end she realised that it's not just about having a six-pack and masculine body.
"I just realised I was completely comfortable with being a feminine kind of boy," she revealed. "Like, 'Oh, you know, you don't have a six-pack and you're not an underwear model, and that's okay'.
"It was a nice little moment for me."
The full survey on body image can be read in this month's issue of Gay Times or online at www.gtdigi.co.uk.
