Teens who have issues with their body image have a distinctively higher chance of becoming depressed as adults, according to the results of a study announced Monday.
Findings were unveiled in a press release and showed boys are more likely to experience severe depression than girls. The increased risk ranges from 50% to 285%.
The study, which was the first of its kind in the U.K., was published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.
Formally known as body dissatisfaction, poor body image affects up to 61% of adolescents around the globe and has been tied to eating disorders, poor mental health and unhealthy behaviors.
Researchers sought to fill the gaps in teen body image research, the bulk of which has been conducted in the U.S. Additionally, most research has not examined body image problems among men and millennials to look into the impact of social media, technology and the internet.
Using nearly 4,000 participants in the long-term, population-based study Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, researchers collected data on women and their children born in 1991 and 1992 who lived in Somerset, England.
More than 3,000 teens were asked to rate how satisfied they were with their physical appearance at age 14. They scored their weight, figure, body build and specific areas such as their stomach, waist, thighs, legs, face and hair on a 5-point scale. A 0 rating meant “extremely dissatisfied” and a 5 meant “extremely satisfied.”
In general, boys and girls were mildly satisfied with their body, however, girls had more dissatisfaction than boys.
Girls leaned toward disliking their thighs, stomach, and weight while boys were dissatisfied with body build, stomach, and hips. Girls liked their hair and hips, and boys liked their hair, weight and legs.
When it came to weight, 32% of girls and 14% of boys were displeased by it whereas 27% of girls and 14% of boys felt bothered by their figure.
Once the girls turned 18, researchers formally assessed their depressive symptoms, and they were found to be more likely than boys to experience bouts of depression.
Analysis of the data revealed that body dissatisfaction at 14 predicted mild, moderate and severe depressive episodes among girls at 18 while mild and severe depressive episodes were predicted among boys by the time they turned 18.
Among girls and boys, rising body dissatisfaction at 14 predicted at least one mild, moderate and/or severe depressive episode at 18.
“These findings demonstrate that body dissatisfaction should be considered as a public health issue of pressing concern,” researchers concluded. “[It] is highly prevalent among young people in the general population and has an increasing incidence; the findings indicate that reducing body dissatisfaction might be an effective strategy to reduce mental health issues.”
