Nearly a fourth of America’s teenagers are misperceiving their body weight, at least that’s according to a new study from Ball State University.
Health Sciences Professor Jagdish Khubchandani says they surveyed around 12,000 high school age children across the nation. He said they asked them about their body weight, how they feel about it, and if they are trying to do something about it.
“We have this complicated situation with children where a third of them are clearly overweight,” Khubchandani said. “Then almost a fourth of them, even if they are not overweight, they either underestimate or overestimate their body weight.”
Khubchandani added that leads to unhealthy eating habits such as eating habits.
“We have always focused on obesity,” he said. “We should now focus on young people and how they consider themselves overweight or underweight.”
Many factors contribute to this thought process in teens from social media to peer pressure to even pressure from their own families. Khubchandani said a easy way to get a teenager struggling with their weight back on track is get back to the basics of dieting: exercising regularly, eating fruits and vegetables, and don’t over eat.
