Most UK children are now being bullied and 40% are suffering weekly

New figures from YMCA England & Wales show that bullying in the UK is now the norm with the majority of kids suffering abuse.

Children are taunting others mostly based on weight and body shape and 55% of young people are saying they have been bullied for the way they look. Even more concerning, 40% of children say they are dealing with abuse at least once a week.

YMCA England & Wales interviewed more than 1,000 children aged between 11 and 16 as part of its In Your Face report. Three out of five children admitted to trying to change their appearance to avoid being bullied.

Despite the notoriety of cyber-bullying, the study found that the majority of harassment - 72% - took place in person.

Chief executive of the support organisation, Denise Hatton, said better education of the effects of bullying can tackle the issue. "Bullying has always existed among young people, but this generation face increasing pressure to live up to unrealistic beauty ideals which they say come from celebrities, social media and the media," Hatton said.

"It's crucial that we teach young people how to feel comfortable in their own body and that looking diffferent isn't a bad thing. We know from previous research that young people who have learned about body confidence at school feel better about their bodies."

The In Your Face report forms part of the Be Real Campaign with Dove. It aims to expose the dangers of appearance-based harassment and bullying of young people.

"We want schools across the country to use the Be Real Campaign's Body Confidence Campaign Toolkit for Schools to help their pupils navigate this image obsessed society we live in."

Also discovered in the report was that most children (54%) have experienced bullying by the time they hit 10. Half of victims also reported that they became anxious after being bullied about how they look.