Nearly everyone is unhappy about an aspect of their appearance at some stage - but none feel it more acutely than adolescent girls.

New research has found that 82 per cent of girls aged between 10 and 14 sometimes dislike part of their appearance. And it's a tough problem for parents to crack, especially as 84 per cent of girls say it's their friends and peers who have the greatest impact over how good they feel about themselves - not mums and dads.

In fact, friends often exacerbate the problem, with just over half of respondents in a survey by the Dove Self-Esteem Fund saying they would feel most hurt if their best friend or a girl in their class made a spiteful comment about how they looked.

Half the girls identified the way they look and body shape as the biggest cause for them feeling down, followed by school.

And 84 per cent agreed that if there were more female celebrities who represented different body shapes, sizes, ages and skin colour, girls would put less pressure on themselves to look a certain way.

Andrew Hill, a professor of medical psychology who has studied body image and dieting in adolescents, says: "The visual media is obsessed with celebrities, and is sending out messages about their physical appearance which say you can always look better. It breeds insecurity."

He says that insecurity often manifests itself in an obsession with weight, which is a growing pressure in today's society.

"Research from the 1960s shows a large amount of concern about weight in teenage girls, but the pressures have got greater, particularly with the current publicity about obesity.

"What seems to have happened is that girls are feeling that pressure from a younger age - nine or even earlier."

But weight, of course, isn't the only problem young girls have with their appearance.

"Weight is normally fairly high on the list of their problems, but it can be anything - the size of their thighs or a fat' tummy, the size of their feet, or just having freckles," says Prof Hill.

He agrees that friends are incredibly influential at this age, but stresses that parents can also make a difference.

"A lot of parents aren't very successful about concealing their own insecurities about their body image, but they need to.

"Really, there's very little magic to suggest to help girls improve their body image.

"They can be terribly secretive about what's happening to them - girls particularly tend to internalise their problems.

"It's really important that parents set a family agenda for eating and appearance. Decisions you're taking about your own body won't go un-noticed by your kids, although it doesn't necessarily mean they'll follow them.

"Reassurance is important too, and remember that this is a phase - they do come out of it. It's part of growing up."

In a bid to tackle the problem, the Dove Self-Esteem Fund has joined forces with Girlguiding UK. They've put together a new education programme called Looking At Me which aims to counter negative body-image and low self-esteem among 10 to 14-year-old Guides.

Working with the eating disorders charity B-eat, the sessions at Guiding groups across the country will cover topics ranging from media manipulation of images of women to eating disorders and cosmetic surgery.

BODYTALK: HOW WE'RE ALL BEING TRICKEDTHE Dove Self-Esteem Fund is promoting BodyTalk, a workshop designed to help young girls (and boys) understand and deal with feelings about their physical appearance.

It helps them learn how ideal' images of beauty are created, including a DVD that investigates the trickery used to create perfect' images in magazines and on film.

According to the BodyTalk workshop:* Six out of 10 teenage girls think they'd be happier if they were thinner'.

* While only 19 per cent of teenage girls are overweight', 67 per cent think they need to lose weight'. (UK Teen Body Image Survey, Jan 2004, Bliss magazine).

* Two-thirds of teenage girls would consider plastic surgery.

(mykindaplace.com survey, 1,800 teenage girls).

The Dove BodyTalk workshop also looks at the toys that might influence very young girls, including Barbie and Ken.

Did you know:

* Barbie's waist is the same diameter as her head.

* Her legs are 50 per cent longer than her arms. For an average woman, they would be around 20 per cent longer.

* Her neck is twice as long as an average human's.

Keeping hip measurements constant, here is what young healthy adults would need to change to match the same body proportions as Barbie and Ken: Women would need to be 61cms taller, with a minus 15cms waist, a chest that was 13cms bigger and a neck 8cms longer. To match Ken, men would need to be 51cms taller, with a 25cms thicker waist, a 28cms bigger chest and a 20cms thicker neck.