Body dissatisfaction at age 11 is linked to increased risk of depression by age 14, finds a new longitudinal study led by UCL researchers.
The findings, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, show that body image concerns explain a large proportion of an association between body mass index (BMI) and depression in children, particularly in girls.
The study, supported by Wellcome, involved 13,135 participants of the Millennium Cohort Study, a UCL-led nationally representative birth cohort study of people born between 2000 and 2002.
- The researchers found that high BMI at age seven was linked with increased depressive symptoms (which can include low mood, loss of pleasure and poor concentration) by age 14, as well as with greater body dissatisfaction at age 11.
- First author Emma Blundell, trainee clinical psychologist at UCL Psychology & Language Sciences, said: "Many public health strategies seek to reduce weight in childhood. Primary school children are being taught about the importance of calories and exercise, and all young people in England are being weighed at school to determine whether weight loss efforts are needed. Whilst promoting healthy diet and exercise is important, it may be that some public health messaging could be fostering feelings of guilt or shame.
- The researchers say that some strategies to target body image concerns in early adolescence have been developed, such as with psychological interventions or media literacy training that could address self-esteem, social comparisons, and social media influences, but more research is needed to more effectively tackle body image concerns in young people.