Men, too, can often feel self conscious about stripping down to their bathing suits. At least in the United Kingdom.

According to a recent poll by the market research app OnePulse, only eight per cent of British men feel "very happy" with their bodies, while 11 per cent are unhappy with their physique and a further 11 per cent claim they "hate" the way they look.

With summer around the corner, 33 per cent are willing to dig out their gym gear ahead of beach season. © Rock and Wasp/shutterstock.com

And while 22 per cent say they don’t feel any pressure to have the perfect figure, almost one third of respondents (29 per cent) feel the pressure to look good thanks to women. It seems male pride has much less influence when it comes to looks, with only 16 per cent claiming to feel the heat from other men.

Yet despite feelings of dissatisfaction, some 20 per cent of men claim to lack the motivation to "work on their body." With summer around the corner, 33 per cent are willing to dig out their gym gear ahead of beach season, while 22 per cent have the impetus to take care of their physiques all year round.

The news flies in the face of the recent ’Dad bod’ phenomenon, which saw ’everyday men’ gain sex appeal in the eyes of the media and womankind for their "non-threatening" and "cuddly" physiques.

Even more pressure on women

But the survey results were even more dramatic for the women polled, with just three per cent of female respondents describing themselves as "happy" with their bodies, and a huge 39 percent admitting they would feel "unconfident" wearing a bikini. The overwhelming majority (41 percent) of women polled cited a flat stomach as the body improvement they most covet, followed by toned legs (20 percent), a small waist (15 percent) and toned arms (12 percent).

The poll surveyed 400 males and 500 females aged between 16 and 65 from all around the UK.