Weight perceptions of English adolescents: cause for celebration or concern?
A new study has shown the greater part of normal-weight adolescents (84% of girls, 83% of boys) correctly acknowledge themselves as ‘about the right weight’. Overestimation of weight and overall size has become very uncommon, with only 7% of normal-weight teens (11% of girls, 4% of boys) identifying themselves as ‘too heavy’. This can be considered a celebration at a time when body image is often a cause for concern.
On the contrary, only 60% of obese adolescents (68% of girls, 53% of boys) correctly recognise themselves as ‘too heavy’, whilst 39% (32% of girls, 47% of boys) underestimate, identifying themselves as ‘too light’ or ‘about the right weight’. This lack of awareness however is a cause for concern, particularly for future health issues, but may be part of a wider acceptance, or normalisation, of obesity in society both of which need to be addressed to stem the obesity epidemic.
