Young people no longer care about being overweight

According to the study on “International Health Behaviors in School Age Children” conducted on approximately 750 thousand adolescents in 41 countries between 2002-2018, young people no longer care about being overweight.

Child and Youth Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Sevcan Karakoç, who made a statement about the study, said, “While there used to be a tendency to look thin, anorexia, to realize one’s own body perception even fatter and lose weight, this study shows that young people underestimate their weight and actually underestimate it.”

For the study on “International Health Behaviors in School-Age Children” conducted by WHO, survey data of approximately 750,000 adolescents from 41 countries, 51 percent girls and 49 percent boys, were examined at four-year intervals between 2002-2018. According to the results, it was determined that there was an increase in the number of young people who do not care about being overweight, do not overestimate their weight or underestimate it. Doğuş University Faculty Member Professor Sevcan Karakoç stated that according to the research results, adolescents do not care even if they are overweight, so they tend to maintain their current weight by not following a healthy program.

“A study examining that body perception actually shows a trend”

Prof. Sevcan Karakoç said, “This study is a WHO-led study that compiles data between 2002-2018. It includes data on approximately 750 thousand young people. It is a study covering children between the ages of 11-15 and pre-adolescence, which we call school age. It is a worldwide study, with data from 41 countries, but no data from Turkey. Since we do not systematically follow these young people every 4 years, data from a few countries like Turkey are missing. In 41 countries, there is data on 750 thousand young people, 51 percent of whom are girls and the rest are boys, with an average age of about 13 years. These data were published in a world-renowned journal on obesity.

What’s interesting about the data is that body perception actually shows a trend, which way does the trend go over the years? This is a study that looks at that. What is seen is that while there used to be a tendency to look thin, anorexia, to realize one’s own body perception as fatter and to lose weight, this study shows that young people underestimate their weight, actually underestimate their weight, it is a study about perceived body weight. In other words, even if a person is overweight, he/she considers himself/herself to be of normal weight. Children and young people in this age group stated that even if they were obese, it was not a big problem.”

“Even if they are overweight, they don’t care that they are overweight”

Karakoç said, “This also has some outcomes. There may be some shift away from a healthier lifestyle. The good thing is that feeling fat and following strict diets was also an unhealthy attitude. But now, even if she is overweight, she does not care that she is overweight and does not follow a healthy program because her perceived body perception is underestimated. She maintains her current weight. For 2 or 3 years, our world experienced a pandemic. One of the negative outcomes of the pandemic is the time spent at home, sedentary life, internet addiction, and disrupted eating patterns. The data of this study covers the period before the pandemic. But when the next one is published, it will probably include pandemic data, and since these young people actually entered the pandemic with impaired body perception, they will return to us in the form of more weight and obesity as a pandemic output.”

“It was seen more in girls”

Stating that girls underestimate their weight more than boys within the framework of the study, Prof. Karakoç said, “Boys also have the perception that the muscular appearance of the athletic body is perceived as weight, such as ‘let me gain more weight while I am overweight, let me do sports’. There may be outcomes such as the increase in obesity, unhealthy living conditions, heavy sports in the early period because they aspire to a muscular body structure, and not realizing the necessary growth. The interesting thing is that it is more common in girls. Boys were able to evaluate their own bodies in a healthier way, they did not underestimate their weight, girls underestimated their weight, and things such as cultural reasons and the developing world were presented in this regard.”

“Families should not emphasize the weight of their children too much”

Stating that parents should not show an oppressive attitude about their children’s overweight and that they should follow a joint sports program, Prof. Karakoç said, “We also see this in the clinic, some families have a lot of pressure, for example, their children are obese and overweight. The parents are constantly complaining about their child’s weight, but the child is actually not interested at all. Since the young person does not feel overweight, on the contrary, he/she eats more as a reaction. He adds weight on top of his weight as an act of conflict or defiance against the family. Maybe this article can raise a little more awareness. Families have a duty. Families should actually take output from this. They should not underline the weight of their children too much and they should implement a diet and sports program that they themselves are involved in.”