title: Relationship between body image and lifestyle factors in Japanese adolescent girls.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Body image, defined here as an inaccurate perception of personal bodyweight, plays a significant role in the development of obesity, eating problems and eating disorders. Certain lifestyle factors may influence an individual's body image, but current knowledge is based mainly on studies in Western populations.
  
  
  METHODS
  The associations between body image and lifestyle factors were investigated in samples of the Japanese female adolescent population.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Respondents who reported that they ate meals slowly (odds ratio [OR] 1.81, P < 0.001) or only consumed small amounts of food (OR 3.17, P < 0.001) were more likely to underestimate their body image, as determined by their body mass index, than eaters who had average behavior for this age group. Individuals who reported eating faster (OR 1.47, P < 0.001) or consuming large amounts (OR 1.67, P < 0.001); those who do not eat breakfast on a daily basis (OR 1.35, P = 0.006); those who go to bed later than the average time for this age group (OR 1.38, P < 0.001) or sleep <7 h (OR 1.40, P < 0.001) and those individuals who rarely exercise (OR 1.27, P = 0.03) were more likely to overestimate their body image, as determined by BMI, compared with those who had average eating, sleeping and exercise behaviors for this age group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Variation from the norm in eating, sleeping and exercise behaviors showed a relationship with a distorted perception of body image in Japanese adolescent girls. These findings are of potential importance in understanding the underlying mechanisms involved in the development of body image and for exploring interventional approaches.
authors.affiliation: Department of Welfare Promotion and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan. kyoko-mori@umin.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kyoko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: Michikazu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sekine
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamagami
authors.forename: Sadanobu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kagamimori
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001828:Body Image; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015444:Exercise; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008019:Life Style; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology