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Body image, body satisfaction and dieting behavior in Japanese preadolescents: The Toyama birth cohort study

Machi Suka1, Hiroki Sugimori, Katsumi Yoshida

  • 1Department of Preventive Medicine, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, 2-16-1 Sugao, Miyamae-ku, 216-8511, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan, suka@marianna-u.ac.jp.

Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine
|March 25, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Japanese preadolescents

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Endocrinology
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Body image and dieting behaviors are critical aspects of adolescent health.
  • Pubertal development significantly influences body perception and satisfaction.
  • Understanding these dynamics in diverse cultural contexts is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the interplay between body image, body satisfaction, and dieting behaviors.
  • To examine the influence of pubertal changes on these factors in Japanese preadolescents.
  • To identify sex-specific differences in these relationships.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional study involving 5,244 preadolescents (ages 12-13) in Toyama prefecture.
  • Data collected on dieting behavior, body perception, and body satisfaction.
  • Statistical analysis to assess associations between variables, including pubertal status and body mass index (BMI).

Main Results:

  • Girls reported higher rates of perceiving themselves as fat, desiring thinness, and dieting compared to boys.
  • Dieting behavior was associated with body perception and desire for thinness, irrespective of actual body mass index (BMI).
  • Pubertal changes showed distinct associations: perceived fatness in boys without pubertal changes, and desire for thinness in girls with pubertal changes.

Conclusions:

  • Dieting behaviors in Japanese preadolescents are linked to perceived body image and desire for thinness, sometimes independent of actual weight status.
  • Pubertal development may shape body image perceptions differently in boys and girls, potentially reinforcing dieting behaviors.
  • These findings highlight the need for tailored interventions addressing body image and dieting in early adolescence.
Abstract

Keywords:
body imagebody mass indexbody satisfactiondieting behaviorpreadolescents

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