MSGID: 1:317/3 64a4f1e5   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    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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   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   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230704110936.htm   
      
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