Courageous Highland teenager jumps out of plane to help others with body image issues

A teenager with a fear of heights bravely took on a skydiving challenge in a bid to raise awareness for other youngsters struggling with body image.

Aimee Ironside (17) from Inverness, bravely jumped out of a plane above Glenrothes despite being scared of heights, to help raise funds and awareness for eating disorder charity, Beat. At the age of 15, Aimee struggled with a range of body image issues that stemmed from various social media sites pushing particular views of what it is "acceptable" to look like as well as bad dieting rituals including food avoidance and harmful "cleanses" trending on social media.

She said: "It used to play on my mind a lot, as I would think maybe I'm not thin enough, or muscly enough, which was because of all of these body ideals and stereotypical standards I would see for bodies."

She continued: "Just because you're young doesn't mean that you don't struggle – you could argue that young people struggle more because it is so targeted towards them on social media."

To mark her new self confidence she recently took part in the skydive, raising £2500 – five times her original target.

Afterwards she said: "When I first jumped out I was going at 120mph, and thought my lashes were going to come out! But when the parachute was pulled the sky was just so quiet and peaceful; it was beautiful."

She continued:"I chose the charity Beat because so many young people struggle with eating disorders and body image issues, which I think is due to unrealistic body standards and diet culture that is presented to us online, as it was to myself."

The youngster is now keen for health professionals to be "more educated" on eating disorders so that they can be recognised earlier.

She is eager to get involved in future fundraisers to continue her mission of combatting stigmatised body types, raising money for charities such as Beat, and spreading awareness.

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.