Body image, weight concerns and related practices by Portuguese adolescents

The relationships between body image and weight management practices were assessed in 266 boys and 312 girls from two schools in Lisbon. Perceived and ideal body image were assessed using the method of Stunkard. Willingness to lose weight was assessed by the difference between perceived and ideal images. Prevalence of overweight/obesity was 22% in girls and 20% in boys (p=NS), but 47% of girls considered themselves as overweight/obese vs 27% of boys (p<0.01). Willingness to lose weight was higher in girls (48% vs 23% in boys, p<0.001). Girls willing to lose weight smoked and skipped meals more frequently, whereas no differences were found for extracurricular sports activities. Boys willing to lose weight skipped meals more frequently and reported lower extracurricular sports activities, whereas no differences were found for smoking. These results show that adolescents desiring to lose weight engage in unhealthy practices, and implicate that nutrition education starting at young ages is mandatory.