Abstract
BackgroundParents have significant influence on behaviors and perceptions surrounding eating, body image and weight in adolescents. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of body weight dissatisfaction, difficulty in communication with the parents and the relationship between communication with parents and adolescents' dissatisfaction with their body weight (dieting or perceived need to diet).MethodsSurvey data were collected from adolescents in 24 countries and regions in Europe, Canada, and the USA who participated in the cross-sectional 2001/2002 Health Behaviour of School-Aged Children (HBSC) study. The association between communication with parents and body weight dissatisfaction was examined using binary logistic regression analysis.ResultsBody weight dissatisfaction was highly prevalent and more common among girls than boys, among overweight than non-overweight, and among older adolescents than younger adolescents. Difficulty in talking to father was more common than difficulty in talking to mother in all countries and it was greater among girls than among boys and increased with age. Difficulties in talking to father were associated with weight dissatisfaction among both boys and girls in most countries. Difficulties in talking to mother were rarely associated with body weight dissatisfaction among boys while among girls this association was found in most countries.ConclusionThe findings suggest that enhanced parent communication might contribute in most countries to less body dissatisfaction in girls and better communication with the father can help avoiding body weight dissatisfaction in boys. Professionals working with adolescents and their families should help adolescents to have a healthy weight and positive body image and promote effective parent – adolescent communication.
Highlights
Parents have significant influence on behaviors and perceptions surrounding eating, body image and weight in adolescents
The definition of body dissatisfaction varies across studies; some studies focused on body image or body shape dissatisfaction while other studies have focused on the perception of body weight
Among adolescent boys the highest rates of body weight dissatisfaction were found in Italy (39.9%), USA (37.7%), and Greece (35.2%), while among girls the highest rates of body weight dissatisfaction were found in Czech Republic (61.8%), Slovenia (56.8%), and Italy (55.2%) (Table 1)
Summary
Parents have significant influence on behaviors and perceptions surrounding eating, body image and weight in adolescents. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of body weight dissatisfaction, difficulty in communication with the parents and the relationship between communication with parents and adolescents' dissatisfaction with their body weight (dieting or perceived need to diet). A positive association has been found between body mass index (BMI) and body image dissatisfaction among youth [8]. For both genders, the desire to change shape or weight is common [9]; gender differences in body dissatisfaction have been noted in early adolescence with girls being more dissatisfied with their bodies than boys [1,4,7,10,11]. In the present study we considered body weight dissatisfaction from an overweight/obesity perspective, i.e. adolescents reporting to be on a diet to lose weight or need to lose weight were considered to be dissatisfied with their weight
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