Around half of 15-year-old girls in Belgium (46% in Flanders, 54% in Wallonia) think they are too fat, according to a report from the European office of the World Health Organisation (WHO).
With the study 'Health behaviour in school-aged children', the WHO wanted to map out the eating habits of teenagers. The organisation therefore asked 280,000 boys and girls aged 11, 13 and 15 years from 44 countries in Europe, Canada and Central Asia between 2021 and 2022 questions about their diets and how they feel about their bodies.
The percentage of overweight young people has hardly increased in Belgium: 15% of teenagers are overweight or obese. But this figure is in stark contrast to what 15-year-olds seemingly think about themselves, with around 50% considering themselves too fat.
"These figures do not sound unfamiliar to us," Eva Van Malderen, researcher at the Department of Clinical Developmental Psychology at the University of Ghent, told VRT.
Friends and family
While social media and the unrealistic beauty standards they present undoubtedly play a major role in the high percentage, Van Malderen stressed that this is not the sole problem.
Other environmental factors such as parental influences and playground conversations also definitely play a role. "Friends and family are much closer to teenagers. When they talk about losing weight or skinny bodies, young people pick up on that too."
On the other hand, there are also personal characteristics. "Think of perfectionism, how impulsive someone is or how well they manage their emotions," she said. "This may make them more susceptible to that ideal image of a slim body."
Once a teenager starts comparing themself to others, it is difficult to remove this distorted body image because it creates tunnel vision. "They only see skinny people, while there are also many other bodies walking around," said Caroline Braet, professor of clinical psychology at Ghent University.
Adolescent physical activity, nutrition, obesity & body image. Our latest report with @WHO_Europe explores key health behaviours of 280,000 young people. Discover the trends & implications: https://t.co/BzA7lBSS1W #AdolescentHealth pic.twitter.com/Sh3AgnzTML
— HBSC Study (@HBSCStudy) May 22, 2024
What is particularly striking is the struggle with an incorrect body image: about 50% of Belgian 15-year-old girls think they are too fat, while in reality, just 14% of girls are overweight. "Girls still attach more importance to the prevailing ideal of beauty," Van Malderen said.
Girls have a particularly hard time when their bodies start to change during adolescence, she added. "Everyone, boy or girl, has to go through that, but we see in studies that girls often become dissatisfied with their bodies."
Still, boys also suffer with their body image: about a quarter of 15-year-old boys in Belgium consider themselves too fat, while only 15% are overweight. "We increasingly see that boys are not blind to this specific beauty ideal either. However, we notice that they are more in a conflict: when they think they are too thin, they want to be more muscular. When they think they are too fat, they still have that thin ideal of beauty."
How to help young people
Importantly, Van Malderen noted that most teenagers struggle through adolescence without too many lasting negative effects. "However, if that is not the case and the negative body image persists, there are various techniques to change it."
Most techniques focus on three aspects: adjusting thoughts, feelings and behaviour. This always takes place in stages, and sometimes requires specific therapy as well. "In this way, we teach teenagers to deal critically with the thoughts they have. 'Are those thoughts correct, do you have evidence for that?' they have to ask themselves."
It remains important to help people get rid of their incorrect body image, as it can be really dangerous – especially for young people. "They get tunnel vision and that can lead to depression. We have to continue to monitor it closely."
