Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-t5pn6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T01:01:01.987Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Relationship Between Body Image Concerns and Weight-Related Behaviours of Adolescents and Emerging Adults: A Systematic Review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 March 2018

Pravina Santhira Shagar Open the ORCID record for Pravina Santhira Shagar [Opens in a new window] ,
Neil Harris ,
Jennifer Boddy  and
Caroline L. Donovan
Pravina Santhira Shagar*
Affiliation:
Public Health, School of Medicine and Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Neil Harris
Affiliation:
Public Health, School of Medicine and Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Jennifer Boddy
Affiliation:
School of Human Services and Social Work and Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Caroline L. Donovan
Affiliation:
School of Applied Psychology and Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
*
Address for correspondence: Pravina Santhira Shagar, Public Health, School of Medicine and Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, Building G01, Room 3.30, Griffith University, Gold Coast campus, QLD 4222, Australia. E-mail: pravina.santhirashagar@griffithuni.edu.au
Get access

Abstract

This systematic review investigates evidence on the association between body image concerns and weight-related behaviours of adolescents and emerging adults. It includes peer-reviewed journal articles reporting research involving body image concerns and weight-related behaviours of adolescents and emerging adults, published between 2005–2017, and located through systematic searches from four databases. This review includes studies from 11 countries or regions: United States (n = 13), Asia (n = 9), Europe (n = 8), Middle East (n = 3), South America (Brazil; n = 3), Canada (n = 3), Australia (n = 1), New Zealand (n = 1), Trinidad (n = 1), Turkey (n = 1) and Seychelles (n = 1); 24 different countries (n = 1); three Asian countries and the United States (n = 1). Out of 46 studies included in this review, 45 studies reported a positive association between body image concerns and weight-related behaviours. Adolescents and emerging adults who misperceived their weight engaged in weight-related behaviours. Higher body dissatisfaction had a significant association in the development of eating disorders and extreme weight-loss behaviours. Body image concerns play a significant role in adolescents and emerging adults engaging in weight-related behaviours. Experimental research designs are required to determine the causality of this association. Evidence strongly suggests policy makers and public health practitioners contemplate strategies to promote positive body image and healthy weight-related behaviours among adolescents and emerging adults.

Keywords

body image concernsweight-related behaviourssystematic reviewemerging adultsadolescents
Type
Review Article
Information
Behaviour Change , Volume 34 , Issue 4 , December 2017 , pp. 208 - 252
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agliata, D., & Tantleff-Dunn, S. (2004). The impact of media exposure on males’ body image. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23, 7–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Al Sabbah, H., Vereecken, C., Abdeen, Z., Kelly, C., Ojala, K., Németh, A., . . . Maes, L. (2010). Weight control behaviors among overweight, normal weight and underweight adolescents in Palestine: Findings from the national study of Palestinian schoolchildren (HBSC-WBG2004). International Journal of Eating Disorders, 43, 326–336.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Alwan, H., Viswanathan, B., Williams, J., Paccaud, F., & Bovet, P. (2010). Association between weight perception and socioeconomic status among adults in the Seychelles. BMC Public Health, 10, 467–467.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Arnett, J.J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55, 469–480.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
American Dietetic Association. (2005). ADA evidence analysis manual. Chicago, IL: American Dietetic Association.Google Scholar
Bahreynian, M., Qorbani, M., Motlagh, M.E., Heshmat, R., Ardalan, G., & Kelishadi, R. (2015). Association of perceived weight status versus body mass index on adherence to weight-modifying plan among Iranian children and adolescents: The CASPIAN-IV Study. Indian Pediatrics, 52, 857–863.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barker, E.T., & Galambos, N.L. (2007). Body dissatisfaction, living away from parents, and poor social adjustment predict binge eating symptoms in young women making the transition to university. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 36, 904–911.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bilali, A., Galanis, P., Velonakis, E., & Katostaras, T. (2010). Factors associated with abnormal eating attitudes among Greek adolescents. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 42, 292–298.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brener, N.D., Billy, J.O., & Grady, W.R. (2003). Assessment of factors affecting the validity of self-reported health-risk behavior among adolescents: Evidence from the scientific literature. Journal of Adolescent Health, 33, 436–457.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Canpolat, B.I., Orsel, S., Akdemir, A., & Ozbay, M.H. (2005). The relationship between dieting and body image, body ideal, self-perception, and body mass index in Turkish adolescents. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 37, 150–155.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cash, T.F. (2004). Body image: Past, present, and future. Body Image, 1, 1–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cash, T.F. (2012). Cognitive-behavioral perspectives on body image. In Cash, T.F. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of body image and human appearance (pp. 334–342). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cash, T.F., Ancis, J.R., & Strachan, M.D. (1997). Gender attitudes, feminist identity, and body images among college women. Sex Roles, 36, 433–447.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cash, T.F., & Hicks, K.L. (1990). Being fat versus thinking fat: Relationships with body image, eating behaviors, and well-being. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 14, 327–341.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheung, P.C.H., Ip, P.L.S., Lam, S.T., & Bibby, H. (2007). A study on body weight perception and weight control behaviours among adolescents in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Medical Journal [Xianggang Yi Xue Za Zhi], 13, 16–21.Google Scholar
Claro, R.M., Santos, M.A.S., & Oliveira-Campos, M. (2014). Body image and extreme attitudes toward weight in Brazilian schoolchildren (PeNSE 2012). Revista Brasileira De Epidemiologia = Brazilian Journal Of Epidemiology, 17 (Suppl. 1), 146–157.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Conley, A., & Boardman, J.D. (2007). Weight overestimation as an indicator of disordered eating behaviors among young women in the United States. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 40, 441–445.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cook, S.J., MacPherson, K., & Langille, D.B. (2007). Far from ideal: weight perception, weight control, and associated risky behaviour of adolescent girls in Nova Scotia. Canadian Family Physician, 53, 678–684.Google ScholarPubMed
de Santana, M.L.P., Assis, A.M.O., Silva, R. d. C.R., Raich, R.M., Machado, M.E.P. d. C., Pinto, E. d. J., . . . Machado, M.E.P. d. C. (2016). Risk factors for adopting extreme weight-control behaviors among public school adolescents in Salvador, Brazil: A case-control study. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 35, 113–117.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
de Sousa Fortes, L., Cipriani, F.M., & Ferreira, M.E.C. (2013). Risk behaviors for eating disorder: Factors associated in adolescent students. Trends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, 35, 279–286.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deschamps, V., Salanave, B., Chan-Chee, C., Vernay, M., & Castetbon, K. (2015). Body-weight perception and related preoccupations in a large national sample of adolescents. Pediatric Obesity, 10, 15–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Donovan, C.L., Spence, S.H., & Sheffield, J.K. (2006). Investigation of a model of weight restricting behaviour amongst adolescent girls. European Eating Disorders Review, 14, 468–484.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duncan, J.S., Duncan, E.K., & Schofield, G. (2011). Associations between weight perceptions, weight control and body fatness in a multiethnic sample of adolescent girls. Public Health Nutrition, 14, 93–100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Epperson, A.E., Song, A.V., Wallander, J.L., Markham, C., Cuccaro, P., Elliott, M.N., & Schuster, M.A. (2014). Associations among body size, body image perceptions, and weight loss attempts among African American, Latino, and White youth: A test of a mediational model. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 39, 394–404.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Espinoza, P., Penelo, E., & Raich, R.M. (2010). Disordered eating behaviors and body image in a longitudinal pilot study of adolescent girls: What happens 2 years later? Body Image, 7, 70–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fan, M., & Jin, Y. (2015). The effects of weight perception on adolescents’ weight-loss intentions and behaviors: Evidence from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey. International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health, 12, 14640–14668.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, M., Skouteris, H., McCabe, M., Mussap, A., Mellor, D., & Ricciardelli, L. (2012). An evaluation of equivalence in body dissatisfaction measurement across cultures. Journal of Personality Assessment, 94, 410–417.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grogan, S. (2006). Body image and health contemporary perspectives. Journal of Health Psychology, 11, 523–530.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grogan, S. (2016). Body image: Understanding body dissatisfaction in men, women and children. London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guarino, R., Pellai, A., Bassoli, L., Cozzi, M., Di Sanzo, M.A., Campra, D., & Guala, A. (2005). Overweight, thinness, body self-image and eating strategies of 2,121 Italian teenagers. The Scientific World Journal, 5, 812–819.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hayes, S., & Napolitano, M.A. (2012). Examination of weight control practices in a non-clinical sample of college women. Eating And Weight Disorders, 17, e157–e163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hinrichsen, H., Waller, G., & van Gerko, K. (2004). Social anxiety and agoraphobia in the eating disorders: Associations with eating attitudes and behaviours. Eating Behaviors, 5, 285–290.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ibrahim, C., El-Kamary, S.S., Bailey, J., & St George, D.M. (2014). Inaccurate weight perception is associated with extreme weight-management practices in U.S. high school students. Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition, 58, 368–375.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jaworowska, A., & Bazylak, G. (2009). An outbreak of body weight dissatisfaction associated with self-perceived BMI and dieting among female pharmacy students. Biomedecine & Pharmacotherapie, 63, 679–692.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kachi, Y. (2010). Latent structure of dieting among female high-school students in Japan. Personality and Individual Differences, 48, 11–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, O., & Kim, K. (2005). Body mass index, body shape satisfaction, and weight control behaviors among Korean girls. Psychological Reports, 96, 676–680.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lee, G., Ha, Y., Vann, J.J., & Choi, E. (2009). Weight perception and dieting behavior among Korean adolescents. The Journal Of School Nursing, 25, 427–435.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Levine, M.P., & Piran, N. (2004). The role of body image in the prevention of eating disorders. Body Image, 1, 57–70.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liechty, J.M. (2010). Body image distortion and three types of weight loss behaviors among nonoverweight girls in the United States. Journal of Adolescent Health, 47, 176–182.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Markey, C.N., & Markey, P.M. (2005). Relations between body image and dieting behaviors: An examination of gender differences. Sex Roles, 53, 519–530.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mase, T., Miyawaki, C., Ohara, K., & Nakamura, H. (2015). The relationships among perception of body image, a desire for thinness, and dieting behavior in young females in Japan. Health, 7, 112–118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCabe, M.P., & Ricciardelli, L.A. (2001). Parent, peer, and media influences on body image and strategies to both increase and decrease body size among adolescent boys and girls. Adolescence, 36, 225.Google ScholarPubMed
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D.G., & Group, P. (2009). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: The PRISMA statement. PLoS Med, 6, e1000097.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mustapic, J., Marcinko, D., & Vargek, P. (2015). Eating behaviours in adolescent girls: the role of body shame and body dissatisfaction. Eating And Weight Disorders: EWD, 20, 329–335.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nelson, M.C., Story, M., Larson, N.I., Neumark-Sztainer, D., & Lytle, L.A. (2008). Emerging adulthood and college-aged youth: an overlooked age for weight-related behavior change. Obesity, 16, 2205–2211.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Neumark-Sztainer, D., Hannan, P.J., Story, M., & Perry, C.L. (2004). Weight-control behaviors among adolescent girls and boys: implications for dietary intake. Journal Of The American Dietetic Association, 104, 913–920.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Neumark-Sztainer, D., Levine, M.P., Paxton, S.J., Smolak, L., Piran, N., & Wertheim, E.H. (2006). Prevention of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating: What next? Eating Disorders, 14, 265–285.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Neumark-Sztainer, D., Paxton, S.J., Hannan, P.J., Haines, J., & Story, M. (2006). Does body satisfaction matter? Five-year longitudinal associations between body satisfaction and health behaviors in adolescent females and males. Journal of Adolescent Health, 39, 244–251.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oellingrath, I.M., Hestetun, I., & Svendsen, M.V. (2016). Gender-specific association of weight perception and appearance satisfaction with slimming attempts and eating patterns in a sample of young Norwegian adolescents. Public Health Nutrition, 19, 265–274.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Quick, V., Nansel, T.R., Liu, D., Lipsky, L.M., Due, P., & Iannotti, R.J. (2014). Body size perception and weight control in youth: 9-year international trends from 24 countries. International Journal of Obesity, 38, 988–994.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ramberan, K., Austin, M., & Nichols, S. (2006). Ethnicity, body image perception and weight-related behaviour among adolescent Females attending secondary school in Trinidad. The West Indian Medical Journal, 55, 388–393.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roy, M., & Gauvin, L. (2009). Casting weight goal as a function of weight status among a representative population-based sample of adolescents. Body Image, 6, 277–284.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roy, M., & Gauvin, L. (2013). Associations between different forms of body dissatisfaction and the use of weight-related behaviors among a representative population-based sample of adolescents. Eating And Weight Disorders, 18, 61–73 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roy, M., & Meilleur, D. (2010). Body image distortion change during inpatient treatment of adolescent girls with restrictive anorexia nervosa. Eating and Weight Disorders — Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity, 15, 108–115.Google ScholarPubMed
Roy, M., & Payette, H. (2012). The body image construct among Western seniors: A systematic review of the literature. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 55, 505–521.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shamaley-Kornatz, A., Smith, B., & Tomaka, J. (2007). Weight goals, perceptions, and practices among Hispanic and Anglo college females. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 29, 535–553.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shi, Z., Lien, N., Kumar, B.N., & Holmboe-Ottesen, G. (2007). Perceptions of weight and associated factors of adolescents in Jiangsu Province, China. Public Health Nutrition, 10, 298–305.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sirang, Z., Bashir, H.H., Jalil, B., Khan, S.H., Hussain, S.A., Baig, A., . . . Kadir, M.M. (2013). Weight patterns and perceptions among female university students of Karachi: A cross sectional study. BMC Public Health, 13, 230–230.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Som, N., & Mukhopadhyay, S. (2015). Body weight and body shape concerns and related behaviours among Indian urban adolescent girls. Public Health Nutrition, 18, 1075–1083.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Steinberg, L. (2014). Age of opportunity. Lessons from the new science of adolescence. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Swami, V., Frederick, D.A., Aavik, T., Alcalay, L., Allik, J., Anderson, D., . . . Cunningham, J. (2010). The attractive female body weight and female body dissatisfaction in 26 countries across 10 world regions: Results of the International Body Project I. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36, 309–325.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tanenbaum, H.C., Felicitas, J.Q., Li, Y., Tobias, M., Chou, C.-P., Palmer, P.H., . . . Xie, B. (2016). Overweight Perception: Associations with Weight Control Goals, Attempts, and Practices among Chinese Female College Students. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 116, 458–466.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thomas, J., Khan, S., & Abdulrahman, A.A. (2010). Eating attitudes and body image concerns among female university students in the United Arab Emirates. Appetite, 54, 595–598.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ursoniu, S., Putnoky, S., & Vlaicu, B. (2011). Body weight perception among high school students and its influence on weight management behaviors in normal weight students: A cross-sectional study. Wiener Klinische Wochenschrift, 123, 327–333.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wang, Y., Liang, H., Chen, X., Wang, Y., Liang, H., & Chen, X. (2009). Measured body mass index, body weight perception, dissatisfaction and control practices in urban, low-income African American adolescents. BMC Public Health, 9, 183–183.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wharton, C.M.P., Adams, T.P., & Hampl, J.S.P.R.D. (2008). Weight loss practices and body weight perceptions among US college students. Journal of American College Health, 56, 579–584.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
World Health Organization (WHO). (2006). Adolescent nutrition: A review of the situation in selected South-East Asian Countries. New Delhi: WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia. Retrieved June 2, 2016, from http://apps.searo.who.int/pds_docs/B0239.pdf Google Scholar
Yang, K., Turk, M.T., Allison, V.L., James, K.A., & Chasens, E. (2014). Body Mass Index Self-Perception and Weight Management Behaviors During Late Adolescence. Journal of School Health, 84, 654–660.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zhang, J., Seo, D.-C., Kolbe, L., Lee, A., Middlestadt, S., Zhao, W., & Huang, S. (2011). Comparison of overweight, weight perception, and weight-related practices among high school students in three large Chinese cities and two large U.S. cities. Journal of Adolescent Health, 48, 366–372.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zullig, K., Ubbes, V.A., Pyle, J., & Valois, R.F. (2006). Self-reported weight perceptions, dieting behavior, and breakfast eating among high school adolescents. Journal of School Health, 76, 87–92.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed