Beyonce has been named the most inspiring female celebrity for body positivity.

A survey carried out by yoghurt brand Activia found that the 'Halo' hitmaker and the likes of Lizzo, Adele, Rebel Wilson, Jameela Jamil and Chrissy Teigen are the stars people find most empowering when it comes to body acceptance.

In 2018, Beyonce, 39, opened up about how she changed her approach after putting "pressure" on herself to look how society says she should.

She shared: "After the birth of my first child, I believed in the things society said about how my body should look. I put pressure on myself to lose all the baby weight in three months, and scheduled a small tour to assure I would do it. Looking back, that was crazy. I was still breastfeeding when I performed the Revel shows in Atlantic City in 2012. After the twins, I approached things very differently."

'Strictly Come Dancing' host Tess Daly - who is a spokesperson for Activia - is also included in the Top 10 and spoke of the importance of being "kinder to ourselves".

The 51-year-old presenter said: "We’ve given up enough over the last year so we need to be kinder to ourselves and look at all of the ways that we can improve our overall wellbeing. I know that when I look after my gut, I feel better for it so I am hoping to use my own experience to encourage people not to overlook it and look at the small changes you can make that will improve your gut health.”

The study also found 33-year-old Hollywood star Zac Efron - who loves to pose shirtless for selfies - to be the top body positive male celebrity.

The list also features Harry Styles, Sam Smith, Chris Pratt, James Corden and Jonathan Van Ness.

Elsewhere, the research revealed the body part people love the most is their legs.

While over half (65 per cent) of the adults surveyed said they felt confident in their body and a quarter plan to look after their gut health in 2021.

Sarah Dossett, Marketing Director at Activia said: “We believe that this year people shouldn’t focus on losing their gut but learning to love it instead. We are passionate about happy guts and know the impact it can have on our overall wellbeing and in turn body positivity. We’re thrilled that the research has come back so strong at a time when many re-evaluate their goals and we hope that we can continue to support our customers this way.”

Top 10 celebrities to inspire body positivity for women:

Beyonce

Giovanna Fletcher

Serena Williams

Adele

Rebel Wilson

Tess Daly

Lizzo

Jameela Jamil

Chrissy Teigen

Nadia Sawalha

Top 10 celebrities to inspire body positivity for men:

Zac Efron

Joe Wicks

Chris Pratt

Olly Murs

James Corden

Robbie Williams

Sam Smith

Craig David

Jonathan Van Ness

Harry Styles