Two in Three 13-Year-Olds Worried About Body Weight: Study

Every second 13-year-old girl is conscious about body weight, compared to every four in 10 boys of the same age, a latest research by UCL Institute of Child Health (UK) in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (UK) states.

The researchers collected the data of more than 7,000 participants in the Children of the 90s study at the University of Bristol (UK), reported Medical Xpress. These children were aged between 13 and 15. The results showed that girls were more than twice as likely as boys to be 'extremely worried' of gaining weight or getting fat.

The study results also showed that:

• One in three girls (34 percent) and one in five boys (21 percent) were anxious about weight and physical appearance
• One in two girls (53 percent) and four in 10 boys (41 percent) did not eat fat-rich foods
• Nearly 26 percent girls and 14.5 percent boys limited their intake of food by fasting, skipping meals or throwing away food in the previous three months
• Around 27 percent girls and 23 percent boys regularly worked out to lose weight
• Girls and boys who were worried about being overweight, actually had 40 percent of chances of being overweight and 90 percent higher odds of being obese at age 15

The research noted that eating disorders were high among the adolescents, specially girls. Eating habits also have serious effect on children's' mental health, and their social, personal and family life, the researchers stated.