Body weight and body dissatisfaction among Chinese adolescents: Mediating and moderating roles of weight-related teasing

Abstract

The current study examined the roles of weight-related teasing in the relationship between body weight (body mass index, BMI) and body dissatisfaction in boys and girls. Participants were 711 adolescents recruited from secondary schools in China. They completed self-report questionnaires designed to assess weight-related teasing and body dissatisfaction. Participants’ BMIs were derived from their measured weights and heights. Weight-related teasing was found to play two roles in the relationship between body weight and body dissatisfaction. Specifically, weight-related teasing mediated the path from BMI to body dissatisfaction partially in girls and fully in boys. Weight-related teasing had a moderating effect on the relationship between BMI and body dissatisfaction in girls; this moderating effect was not significant in boys. Adolescents with higher BMIs tend to have higher levels of body dissatisfaction, and this association may be mediated and moderated by weight-related teasing. Interventions targeting body dissatisfaction among overweight and obese adolescents could be attentive to weight-related teasing.