Newswise — A research study encompassing over 745,000 adolescents from 41 countries across Europe and North America has revealed a rise in the number of teenagers who underestimate their body weight. The study, which tracked data from 2002 to 2018, also observed a noticeable decrease in the prevalence of teenagers who overestimate their weight. These peer-reviewed findings, published in Child and Adolescent Obesity, highlight a concerning shift in body weight perception among young people, potentially compromising the efficacy of public health initiatives targeting weight reduction.
The international team of experts responsible for this research caution that during the formative adolescent years, body weight perception can significantly influence lifestyle choices, including dietary habits and exercise routines. Dr. Anouk Geraets, the lead author from the Department of Social Sciences at the University of Luxembourg, emphasizes the worrisome nature of fewer adolescents perceiving themselves as overweight. Such a trend could undermine ongoing efforts to address the escalating rates of obesity in this age group. Adolescents who underestimate their weight may not recognize the need to shed excess pounds, leading them to adopt unhealthy lifestyle behaviors.
It is crucial to note that an individual's perception of their body weight may not align accurately with their actual weight. Discrepancies in body weight perception (BWP) can manifest as either an underestimation, where the actual weight exceeds the perceived weight, or an overestimation, where the actual weight falls below the perceived weight.
In this study, the researchers analyzed survey data from 746,121 11-, 13-, and 15-year-olds in 41 countries. The data was collected at four-year intervals between 2002 and 2018 as part of the International Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) study, which is a collaborative effort by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The research team examined trends in body weight perception (BWP) among adolescents across different countries over time. They took into account factors such as age, gender, and family socioeconomic status. Here are the key findings:
- Underestimation of weight status increased, while overestimation of weight status decreased over time for both genders, with stronger trends observed among girls.
- Correct weight perception increased over time among girls but decreased among boys.
- Changes in correct weight perception, underestimation, and overestimation of weight status varied across different countries. However, these changes could not be explained solely by an increase in the prevalence of overweight or obesity at the country level.
The authors speculated that the observed differences in body weight perception between girls and boys may reflect sex-specific ideals of body image, which have evolved over time. Notably, the increase in underestimation and decrease in overestimation of weight status among girls could be attributed to the emergence of an athletic and strong body as a contemporary body ideal for both genders.
Lead author Dr. Anouk Geraets highlights the clinical and public health implications of this study. The increase in accurate weight perception and the decrease in overestimation among adolescents may have a positive impact by reducing unnecessary and unhealthy weight loss behaviors. However, the rise in underestimation of weight status indicates the need for interventions aimed at strengthening accurate weight perception.
Further research is necessary to better understand the underlying factors driving these trends over time and to develop effective public health interventions. While the study's strength lies in its large number of participating countries, it's important to note that the results cannot be generalized to other regions as the countries included were limited to Europe, the USA, and Canada.
Although the models were adjusted for certain potential confounding factors, such as age, gender, and socioeconomic status, it is worth considering that other factors, including body image, dieting behaviors, changes in eating patterns, or migration, may have also contributed to the observed trends over time.
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