Satisfied with Your Body?

Probably not, if you are a teenager. At every age, accepting who you are — not just ethnicity and gender, but also body shape, size, and strength — correlates with emotional health. During the adolescent years, when everyone's body changes dramatically, body dissatisfaction rises. As you see, this is particularly true for girls — but if the measure were satisfaction with muscles, more boys would be noted as unhappy.

Body Dissatisfaction Correlates With...

• 0.26 correlation between body dissatisfaction and unfavorable media comparisons
• 0.30 correlation between body dissatisfaction and weight criticism from parents
• 0.55 correlation between body dissatisfaction and unfavorable peer comparisons
• 0.52 correlation between body dissatisfaction and low self-esteem

Data from Van Vonderen & Kinnally, 2012.

Gender Differences In Body Dissatisfaction

Females of all ages tend to be dissatisfied with their bodies, but the biggest leap in dissatisfaction occurs when girls transition from early to mid-adolescence (Makinen et al., 2012).

Data from an accompanying graph is as follows:

• 13-year-old girls: 16% were dissatisfied with their weight, 9% were dissatisfied with their hips, 18% were dissatisfied with their thighs, and 7% were dissatisfied with their waist.
• 15-year-old girls: 30% weight, 25% hips, 42% thighs, and 17% waist.
• 18-year-old girls: 22% weight, 27% hips, 39% thighs, and 25% waist.
• 13-year-old boys: 17% weight, 12% hips, 10% thighs, 21% waist.
• 15-year-old boys: 25% weight, 2% hips, 9% thighs, 11% waist.
• 18-year-old boys: 20% weight, 4% hips, 6% thighs, 10% waist.

Data from Weinshenker, 2014; Rosenblum & Lewis, 1999.

Social Media and Body Dissatisfaction

• The more time teenage girls spend on social media, the higher their body dissatisfaction
• 86% of teens say that social network sites hurt their body confidence

Information from Proud2Bme, 2012; Tiggermann & Slater, 2014.

Nutrition and Exercise

High school students are told, at home and at school, to eat their vegetables and not care about their looks. But they listen more to their peers and follow social norms. Fortunately, some eventually learn that no matter what their body type, good nutrition and adequate exercise make a person feel more attractive, energetic, and happy.

The accompanying bar graph shows data by grade level and gender, as follows:

• Overweight (by scale): ninth grade girls 17%, twelfth grade girls 15%, ninth grade boys 14%, twelfth grade boys 13%.
• Trying to lose weight: ninth grade girls 57%, twelfth grade girls 62%, ninth grade boys 35%, twelfth grade boys 33%.
• Active 5 days, an hour or more: ninth grade girls 45%, twelfth grade girls 32%, ninth grade boys 63%, twelfth grade boys 51%.
• Muscle strengthening 3 times per week: ninth grade girls 49%, twelfth grade girls 36%, ninth grade boys 66%, twelfth grade boys 57%.
• Ate 3+ servings vegetables daily (Vegetables includes salad greens and excludes French fries): ninth grade girls 12%, twelfth grade girls 13%, ninth grade boys 15%, twelfth grade boys 16%.
• Ate/drank 3+ servings fruit daily (Fruits include a glass of 100% fruit juice): ninth grade girls 17%, twelfth grade girls 15%, ninth grade boys 21%, twelfth grade boys 21%.
• Drank 2+ glasses milk daily: ninth grade girls 13%, twelfth grade girls 8%, ninth grade boys 27%, twelfth grade boys 22%.

Data from MMWR, June 15, 2018.