People with a positive body image are more content with their body, reflect their society's beauty ideals more critically, have the ability to care for their body and are better protected from depression. Adolescence represents a particularly critical period relating to the development of the body image. The results of 1023 adolescents between the age of 13 and 16 years are unambiguous: In both analyzed language parts of the country, the positive body image correlates significantly positive with mental health and significantly negative with the influence by the media. For the future it is recommended to develop target-group-specific and gender-specific awareness and communication measures, particularly by including social media, as well as associated means to strengthen adolescents' mental health.
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