Body image and health complaints among adolescents: role of life satisfaction and weight reduction behaviour

Abstract

Background: Body image dissatisfaction is known to be associated with engagement in different forms of weight reduction behaviour among adolescents. Question remains, how this influences their psychosomatic health and whether this association goes through their life satisfaction. Aim of this study was therefore to explore association between body image and health complaints among adolescents with the specific role of life satisfaction and weight reduction behaviour on this association. Methods: We obtained data from 5th to 9th grade students in 2014 via the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children cross-sectional study in Slovakia (n=8,849, 10-16 years old, mean age=13.5, 49.9% boys). Using structural equation modelling, we the model of proposed associations of body image with weight reduction behaviour, life satisfaction and health complaints. Findings: Proposed structural model showed acceptable goodness of fit (e.g. Relative Chi-square=18.50; Root Mean Square Error of Approximation=.04; Comparative Fit Index=.98). Body image dissatisfaction was directly associated with engagement in weight reduction behaviour and also mediated through worse life satisfaction. Engagement in weight reduction behaviour was then associated with more frequent health complaints e.g. headache, stomach-ache, backache, sleeping problems, irritability, nervousness, feeling low and dizziness. Discussion: As is indicated by our results, when approaching adolescents with body image dissatisfaction, it might be important to focus on the way they think about their body and their life satisfaction which affects the behaviour they choose to deal with this dissatisfaction as it seems to have negative impact on their health.