Growing up amid expanding waistlines
Americans are getting larger -- that message seems hard to ignore. Yet, for a generation that has come of age amid growing waistlines, the definition of “large” may be a bit fuzzy.
When asked in a recent study to evaluate their size, many participating high school students rated themselves as slimmer than they actually were. The teens’ body mass index showed that 47% were overweight or at risk of becoming overweight, but only 22% perceived themselves as overweight.
About 1.5% of the students were underweight or at risk of becoming underweight, yet 35% saw themselves that way. About 51% were normal weight, and 43% saw themselves as normal weight. “In doing the survey, I found that there was this huge misperception going on among these kids,” says lead researcher Nancy Brener, research psychologist in the division of adolescent and school health at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. “Although almost half of them were overweight or at risk of overweight, very few perceived themselves that way. I didn’t expect it.”
The study, published in the November 2004 Obesity Research journal, was based on a survey of about 2,000 students around the country in grades nine through 12. About 53% were girls, and 47% boys. Although students were not asked to explain the description of themselves, Brener has some theories.
“I think the main thing is what students are using as a reference point in their weight perception,” she says, namely, a population in the midst of an obesity crisis. “If everyone’s getting heavier, it’s almost like there’s a new standard.”
Although the survey included a larger percentage of African American teens (41%) than is in the general population, Brener says other groups probably display this discrepancy between self-image and actual weight, although perhaps not to the same degree. (Studies have shown that African American women can have very positive body images even when they perceive themselves as overweight.)
“When you’re among the thinner of your peers or family, then you might say, ‘I’m about the right weight’ or ‘I’m underweight,’ ” Brener says. “There’s sort of a shift in the norm based on what people see.”
Observing how teens -- especially girls -- dress seems to support Brener’s findings. Many unself-consciously wear cropped tops revealing rolls of stomach flab, low-slung pants that emphasize large hips, and sleeveless blouses showing chubby arms.
Other researchers suggest that teenagers are more realistic about their body size than they may seem.
It could be that such clothing is all that’s available, says Kristen Harrison, assistant professor in the speech and communications department at the University of Illinois. Or teens might be wearing the clothes “out of a sense of rebellion.”
“There are certainly some young women who think they look good,” she says, “and maybe they get positive feedback -- or get negative feedback and don’t care.”
Donna Mitroff, adjunct professor at the USC Annenberg School for Communication, says that images of music and film stars have played a role in how teenagers dress.
“They’re so influenced by the media images of people like Britney Spears and Brandy that it’s necessary to adjust your self-perception in order to find it acceptable to dress the way your peer group is dressing,” she says.
Brener suggests that a solution to the self-perception problem might be “making these teenagers mindful of what the standard is,” perhaps through a doctor’s intervention. “If you can make them realize they’re overweight, they might be more inclined to take steps to lose weight.”
