title: Feeling 'too fat' rather than being 'too fat' increases unhealthy eating habits among adolescents - even in boys.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Adolescence is a period of gender-specific physical changes, during which eating habits develop. To better understand what factors determine unhealthy eating habits such as dieting to lose weight, skipping meals, and consumption of unhealthy foods, we studied how physical measurements and body perception relate to eating habits in boys and girls, before and during adolescence.
  
  
  METHODS
  For this cross-sectional study, we obtained data from both written questionnaires and physical measurements of height, weight, and waist circumference (WC).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Dieting to lose weight and skipping breakfast were more common among adolescents than among younger boys and girls (p<0.05). The strongest risk factor for dieting in both boys and girls was perception of overweight, which persisted after adjusting for age and for being overweight (p<0.01). Another independent risk factor for dieting behaviour was overweight, as defined by body mass index (BMI) among boys (p<0.01) and WC among girls (p<0.05). In both boys and girls, skipping breakfast was associated with both a more negative body perception and higher BMI (p<0.05). Skipping breakfast was also associated with age- and gender-specific unhealthy eating habits such as skipping other meals, lower consumption of fruits and vegetables, and higher consumption of sweets and sugary drinks (p<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Body perception among adolescents is an important factor relating to unhealthy eating habits, not only in girls, but even in boys. Focus on body perception and eating breakfast daily is crucial for the development of healthy food consumption behaviours during adolescence and tracking into adulthood.
authors.affiliation: Medical Faculty, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Division of Paediatrics, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden; jolanda.van.vliet@regionostergotland.se.
authors.forename: Jolanda S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: van Vliet
authors.affiliation: Medical Faculty, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Per A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Gustafsson
authors.affiliation: Medical Faculty, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Division of Paediatrics, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nelson
keywords: adolescent behaviour; body image; food habits; overweight; prevention