Anxiety about weight hits its peak between the ages of 14 and 15 - and social media could be to blame, suggests new research.
Girls appear to be more worried than boys, according to the findings.
The new international study revealed that 46 percent of girls were either extremely or very worried about their weight, while only 31 percent of males shared this level of concern.
The researchers suggest that this could be due to girls using social media more regularly than boys.
Social media can prey on those already vulnerable and expose them to cyberbullying and body dissatisfaction, creating more anxiety around body image.
This age is a vital time for teenagers, especially those living with obesity.
Teenagers often hit puberty around this age, making them more anxious, more self-aware, and overly critical of themselves.
Dr. Jason Halford, a professor of biological psychology and health behaviors at the University of Leeds, president of the European Association for the Study of Obesity, and co-author of the study, said: “Compared with other age groups, more adolescence living with obesity aged 14–15 y (particularly females) were extremely/very worried about their weight and extremely/very likely to make a future weight loss attempt.”
He added: “Although it is not possible to determine the cause of the peak in worry and planned weight loss attempts in mid-adolescence, we suspect that post-pubertal changes and social challenges such as cyberbullying could drive increased self-awareness and concern about weight among this age group.
“Social media may also play a role, as its use is significantly higher among female vs male adolescents and has been associated with body dissatisfaction."
“However, it was not possible to determine the pubertal stage of the adolescence living with obesity participants without including potentially culturally inappropriate questions.”
The study, presented at this year’s International Congress on Obesity in Melbourne, looked at teenagers living with obesity across ten countries.
These countries included Australia, Colombia, Italy, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
The researchers conducted surveys that assessed perceptions, attitudes, behaviors and barriers to effective obesity care.
They surveyed 5275 obese teens between the age of 12-17, as well as 5,389 people who care for obese adolescents, and 2,323 healthcare professionals who treat teens living with obesity.
Of the teenagers, 56 percent were male, with 938 of them being aged 12-13, 829 of them being 14-15, and 1204 aged between 16-17.
The other 44 percent were girls, with 549 of them aged 12-13, 650 aged 14-15, and 1,105 aged between 16-17.
While more girls were worried about their weight, both genders' level of concern over their appearance peaked when they were between 14-15.
For girls, between the ages of 12-13, 43 percent were very worried, between 14-15, 56 percent of them were overly worried, and when they hit 16-17, it dropped back down to 41 percent.
This was a similar pattern with the boys.
Of those aged between 12-13, 22 percent were very worried or more, 37 percent of those aged between 14-15 were very worried or more, and 34 percent of those aged 16-17 shared this high level of concern.
This anxiety over their size led many teens to try to lose weight. Overall, three in five teens attempted to lose weight in the past year. However, only 41 percent of caregivers responded in a similar way to help.
Despite both genders' weight loss attempts, more girls tried to slim down than boys, with 63 percent of them attempting it compared to only 53 percent of boys.
When it came to weight loss, there was a variety of views about whose responsibility it was.
While 65 percent of teens believed it was completely their responsibility to lose weight, only 37 percent of caregivers and 27 percent of healthcare professionals agreed.
Dr. Bassam Bin-Abbas, a consultant in the section of endocrinology and diabetes in the Department of Pediatrics at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and co-author of the study, said: “Knowing that females are more worried about their weight than males and more than half of them are very worried, especially at the critical age of mid puberty indicates that they might need more psychosocial support, particularly at this age of 14-15 years.
“On the other hand, the results of this sub-analysis also tell us that males are less motivated and less likely to attempt weight loss in the future, so physicians should be aware of that and should spend more time with their young male patients.”
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