Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33676473›Full record

SynthesisBMC public health2021

Parental appearance teasing in adolescence and associations with eating problems: a systematic review.

Lucy M Dahill, Stephen Touyz, Natalie M V Morrison, Phillipa Hay

Open access · goldAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
19citing papers in PubMed
5.3field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

19 citing papers in PubMed, 52 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Efficacy of a Universal Weight Stigma Intervention on the Quality of Parent-Child Conversations About Weight.The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Lucy M DahillTranslational Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia. l.dahill@westernsydney.edu.au.ORCID 0000-0002-7732-4017
Stephen TouyzDepartment of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Natalie M V MorrisonTranslational Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia.
Phillipa HayTranslational Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia.
Western Sydney University · AUThe University of Sydney · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe adolescent years see significant physical and emotional development that lay foundations for patterns of behaviour that can continue into adult life, including the shaping of eating behaviours. Given parents are key socio-environmental drivers and influencers of adolescent behaviours around physical health and wellbeing, it is critical to consider if specific forms of parental communication are potentially contributing to the associated emotional difficulties experienced in the adolescent years. The aim of this research was to systematically review the myriad of literature pertaining to the prevalence of parental weight or appearance-based teasing and adolescent eating problems to examine how the scientific and clinical community currently understands the relationship between these domains.

methodsA systematic search of the literature, using the SCOPUS, APA PsycINFO, Medline, CINAHL databases, reference lists and Google Scholar, was undertaken to identify relevant literature for parental teasing and problem eating in adolescents aged 10-19 years, published between January 1980 to October 2020, in English or French.

resultsSix studies met criteria for inclusion, all were cross-sectional studies and two included additional prospective data. Although parents were not the most common perpetrators of teasing, often subsidiary to that of peers and siblings, the influence and impact of parental teasing remained significant, and in some cases, appeared to interact with sibling-based teasing. This teasing was associated with problem eating behaviours for adolescents.

conclusionsThere is evidence in the literature to suggest the existence of an association between 'eating problems' amongst adolescents and exposure to parental appearance or weight teasing. Parents are unlikely to be aware of the perception or impact of the words they use or the wider influence these words may have. Future research should employ representative longitudinal designs to develop a greater understanding of the relationships between parental communications around their adolescent's appearance or weight and how that communication is perceived by adolescents within complex family processes.

trial registrationPROSPERO 2018 CRD42018109623 . Prospectively registered 15th October 2018.

Indexed as

Body ImageParentsAdolescentAdultBody WeightChildCross-Sectional StudiesHumansProspective StudiesYoung AdultAdolescentsAppearance teasingBody imageEating disorderEating problemsFamily processesParent child communicationShape teasingTeasingWeight teasing

Identifiers

PMID33676473
PMCPMC7936414
OpenAlexW3135106161

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.