Weight status and body image perceptions in adolescents: current perspectives

By Dana K. Voelker, Justine J. Reel, C. Greenleaf. Adolescent Health, Medicine and Therapeutics, 2015

594 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Adolescence represents a pivotal stage in the development of positive or negative body image. Many influences exist during the teen years including transitions (eg, puberty) that affect one’s body shape, weight status, and appearance. Weight status exists along a spectrum between being obese (ie, where one’s body weight is in the 95th percentile for age and gender) to being underweight. Salient influences on body image include the media, which can target adolescents, and peers who help shape beliefs about the perceived body ideal. Internalization of and pressures to conform to these socially prescribed body ideals help to explain associations between weight status and body image. The concepts of fat talk and weight-related bullying during adolescence greatly contribute to an overemphasis on body weight and appearance as well as the development of negative body perceptions and dissatisfaction surrounding specific body parts. This article provides an overview of the significance of adolescent development in shaping body image, the relationship between body image and adolescent weight status, and the consequences of having a negative body image during adolescence (ie, disordered eating, eating disorders, and dysfunctional exercise). Practical implications for promoting a healthy weight status and positive body image among adolescents will be discussed.

Subfields: Clinical Psychology, Pharmacy, Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/d737f9326e97d7553cc2bcdf5997ea2f28ec6888

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1. L. Stojanovska
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4. Kathleen Mikkelsen
5. M. Bosevski

Citations in the corpus

• Exercise and mental health. (2017, background): “Negative self-image and perceptions of body weight are more likely to lead people towards physical activity, particularly adolescents [69] however, exercise as a weight management strategy can be compulsive and lead to distressing health outcomes, especially when coupled with eating disorders such a”