Detailed contribution information
| Contribution title | 2776 - Objective body weight and body weight perceptions in Austrian students and psychiatric inpatients as well as psychopathological associations |
|---|---|
| Contribution code | PS02-56 (P) |
| Authors | |
| Form of presentation | Poster |
| Topic |
|
| Abstract |
Objectives: Body image concerns are an essential characteristic of eating disorders, are discussed in the course of obesity and are associated with negative affect. This contribution aims at presenting epidemiological data on the extent of body image concerns in Austrian adolescents as well as association with internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems. Methods: In the course of the Mental Health in Austrian Teenagers study (N = 3615 students, N = 133 child and adolescent psychiatry patients) BMI, body weight perception and behavioral problems (Youth Self-Report) were obtained. Results: 25% of the Austrian students are overweight (> 75th percentile) while 36% perceive themselves as too fat. This “gap” is dramatically higher in girls (overweight: 22%, perceived overweight: 43%) than in boys (29% vs. 27%). In the clinical sample, 28.6% of boys and 63.4% of girls perceive themselves as too fat. 50% of boys but only 40% of girls in the school sample correctly assessed their BMI category (normal weight, underweight, overweight). In the clinical sample, this proportion was only 36% (boys) and 24% (girls). Overweight and obesity was associated with greater internalizing and externalizing problem scores (low effect sizes). Medium to high effect sizes were observed regarding the perceived body weight. Both, perceived overweight and perceived underweight, increased the risk for internalizing and externalizing problems. Higher internalizing problem scores were also found when the perceived body weight did not correspond to the objective body weight (low effect sizes). Conclusion: The results emphasize the need for an integrative approach in the prevention of eating disorders and obesity. In addition to nutrition and physical activity aspects, prevention programs should also target body image as well as accompanying anxiety and depressiveness. Such a prevention program has been developed recently and will be evaluated in Austrian and Spanish schools within the European Horizon 2020 project “ICare”. |