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Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Validation of a Psychosocial Intervention on Body Image in Older People: An Experimental Design
Published on: May 31, 2021
Perception of overweight and self-esteem during adolescence
Eliana M Perrin1, Janne Boone-Heinonen, Alison E Field
1Department of Pediatrics, Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7225, USA. eliana_perrin@med.unc.edu
Objective:
To examine sex- and race/ethnicity-specific relationships between adolescents' self-esteem and weight perception.
Method:
Descriptive analysis and logistic regression of Wave II of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 6,427 males, 6,574 females; ages 11-21) examined associations between low self-esteem and perceived overweight within body mass index (BMI) percentile categories, controlling for sociodemographics and stratified by sex and race/ethnicity.
Results:
25.1% and 8% of normal weight females and males, respectively, perceived themselves as overweight, with variation by race/ethnicity. Low self-esteem was most strongly associated with misperceived overweight in moderate BMI percentile categories (males: OR = 2.34; 95% CI: 1.60-3.41; females: OR = 2.39; 95% CI: 1.82, 3.16). Odds of correctly perceived overweight were higher for low (versus high) self-esteem in white and black females but not males of any race/ethnicity.
Discussion:
Understanding subgroup differences by race/ethnicity in perceived overweight-self-esteem relationships may inform eating disorders' prevention strategies.
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