Fewer teens now perceive themselves as overweight -- international study
of more than 745,000 adolescents
Changes in body weight perception could undermine public health
interventions to tackle obesity

Date:
July 4, 2023
Source:
Taylor & Francis Group
Summary:
A study involving more than 745,000 adolescents from 41 countries
across Europe and North America identified an increase in the
amount of teenagers who underestimate their body weight.


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FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A study involving more than 745,000 adolescents from 41 countries across
Europe and North America identified an increase in the amount of teenagers
who underestimate their body weight.

Tracking data from 2002 to 2018, the peer-reviewed findings, published
today in Child and Adolescent Obesity,demonstrate a noticeable decrease
in those who overestimate their weight too.

The team of international experts, who carried out the research,
warn these shifting trends in body weight perception could reduce the effectiveness of public health interventions aimed at weight reduction
in young people.

"During this impressionable age, body weight perception may influence a
young person's lifestyle choices, such as the amount and types of food
they eat and their exercise habits," says lead author Doctor Anouk
Geraets, from the Department of Social Sciences, at the University
of Luxembourg.

"So it's concerning that we're seeing a trend where fewer adolescents
perceive themselves as being overweight -- as this could undermine ongoing efforts to tackle increasing levels of obesity in this age group. Young
people who underestimate their weight and therefore do not consider
themselves to be overweight may not feel they need to lose excess weight
and, as a result, they may make unhealthy lifestyle choices." A person's perception of their body weight may not accurately reflect their actual
weight. A discrepancy in body weight perception (BWP) may either be an underestimation (where actual weight is higher than perceived weight)
or an overestimation (where actual weight is lower than perceived weight).

In the present study, the researchers examined survey data from 746,121
11-, 13- and 15-year-olds from 41 countries collected at four-yearly
intervals between 2002 and 2018 in the International Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC), a WHO collaborative study.

The team modeled trends in BWP among adolescents across different
countries over time, making adjustments for age, gender, and family socioeconomic status.

They found:
* Underestimation of weight status increased, and overestimation
of weight
status decreased over time among both sexes, with stronger trends
for girls.

* Correct weight perception increased over time among girls, while it
decreased among boys.

* Changes in correct weight perception, underestimation and
overestimation
of weight status differed across different countries -- but these
changes could not be explained by an increase in country-level
overweight/obesity prevalence.

The authors speculated that the observed differences between girls
and boys in BWP may support the idea there are sex differences in body
ideals -- and that these body ideals have changed over time. Notably,
the increased underestimation and decreased overestimation of weight
status over time for girls may be explained by the emergence of an
athletic and strong body, as a new contemporary body ideal for both sexes.

"This study has clinical and public health implications. The increase in correct weight perception and the decrease in overestimation may have
a positive effect on unnecessary and unhealthy weight loss behaviors
among adolescents, while the increase in underestimation might indicate
the need for interventions to strengthen correct weight perception,"
says lead author Doctor Anouk Geraets.

"More research is now needed to understand the factors underlying these
time trends and to develop effective public health interventions."
While the large number of participating countries is a strength of the
present study -- but as these only included countries in Europe, the
USA and Canada, the results can't be generalized to other regions. In
addition, although steps were taken to adjust the models for certain
potential confounding factors, several other factors -- such as body
image, dieting, changing eating patterns, or migration -- may also have
played a role in the observed trends over time.

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========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Anouk Francine Jacqueline Geraets, Alina Cosma, Anne-Siri Fismen,
Kristiina Ojala, Daniela Pierannunzio, Colette Kelly, Marina
Melkumova, Charlene Vassallo, Jelena Gudelj Rakic, Andreas
Heinz. Cross-national time trends in adolescent body weight
perception and the explanatory role of overweight/obesity
prevalence. Child and Adolescent Obesity, 2023; 6 (1) DOI:
10.1080/2574254X.2023.2218148 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230704110936.htm

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