BackgroundAdolescence is a period of gender-specific physical changes, during which eating habits develop. To better understand what factors determine unhealthy eating habits such as dieting to lose weight, skipping meals, and consumption of unhealthy foods, we studied how physical measurements and body perception relate to eating habits in boys and girls, before and during adolescence.MethodsFor this cross-sectional study, we obtained data from both written questionnaires and physical measurements of height, weight, and waist circumference (WC).ResultsDieting to lose weight and skipping breakfast were more common among adolescents than among younger boys and girls (p<0.05). The strongest risk factor for dieting in both boys and girls was perception of overweight, which persisted after adjusting for age and for being overweight (p<0.01). Another independent risk factor for dieting behaviour was overweight, as defined by body mass index (BMI) among boys (p<0.01) and WC among girls (p<0.05). In both boys and girls, skipping breakfast was associated with both a more negative body perception and higher BMI (p<0.05). Skipping breakfast was also associated with age- and gender-specific unhealthy eating habits such as skipping other meals, lower consumption of fruits and vegetables, and higher consumption of sweets and sugary drinks (p<0.05).ConclusionBody perception among adolescents is an important factor relating to unhealthy eating habits, not only in girls, but even in boys. Focus on body perception and eating breakfast daily is crucial for the development of healthy food consumption behaviours during adolescence and tracking into adulthood.

Background: Overweight perception has been shown to be important for health related adolescent behavior, particularly in girls. Body perception may be affected by bodily changes, especially changes visible for others. Female pubertal development is characterized by many physical changes, such as accelerated growth and altered body fat distribution. This study examined the role of appearance of female characteristics in the risk for overweight perception among healthy adolescent girls. Methods: 220 girls, aged 11-16, provided self-reports on body perception and pubertal maturation before anthropometric measurements of height, weight, hip and waist circumference (WC). Logistic regression modeling was used to study the appearance of pubertal characteristics in relation to body perception. Results: Of the 76 girls (35%) perceiving themselves as overweight, only 14 and 36 girls were overweight according to body mass index and waist circumference respectively. Girls reporting breast development and acne (n=144) were more likely to perceive themselves as overweight than girls who did not report this appearance (n=76). These findings persist after adjusting for overweight according to WC. Non-overweight (n=170) rather than overweight girls reporting characteristics (n=50) were at risk of perceiving themselves overweight. Conclusions: Girls may confuse natural changes occurring during adolescent development with being overweight. It is therefore important to improve the understanding about the physical changes that normally occur during puberty along with the girls' own perception of these bodily changes among girls themselves, their parents, at schools, and other healthcare services.

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