ArticleBMC public health2021
Do weight perception and bullying victimization account for links between weight status and mental health among adolescents?
Article 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 21 papers.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 44 citations in OpenAlex.
- How, When, and for Whom Does Daily Weight Bias Internalization Undermine Body Image Satisfaction? A Daily Diary Study of Perceived Weight, Exercise Duration, and Gender Differences Among Adolescents.Journal of youth and adolescence · 2026Article
- A cross-sectional multilevel study of bullying victimisation among adolescents: the role of body weight status and social capital across 38 countries.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Weight perceptions and psychological well-being in young adults: mediating roles of dispositional gratitude, body appreciation, and weight self-stigma.Journal of eating disorders · 2025Article
- Addressing Weight-Related Bullying in Schools: Youth Perspectives on School Policies and Interventions.The Journal of school health · 2025Article
- Flourishing as a Pathway to Well-Being in Obesity Care.Journal of personalized medicine · 2025Review
- Development of a Smart Health Care Service Using Metaverse and Chatbot Technologies for Adolescents, Parents, and School Health Teachers: User-Centered Design Approach.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Associations of Body Mass Index and Lifestyle Factors with Suicidal Ideation, Planning, and Attempts Among Korean Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The weight of words: investigating the role of weight stigma and body mass index in shaping children and youth's emotional experiences.Journal of eating disorders · 2025Article
- Bullying and anxiety/depressive symptoms in Latinx adolescents living with obesity: the mediating role of self-esteem.Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.) · 2025Article
- Behavior Change Techniques in Physical Activity Interventions Targeting Overweight and Obese Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Association between Body Mass Index and Externalizing and Internalizing Symptoms among Chinese Adolescents: Mediating Role of Traditional Bullying and Cyberbullying Victimization.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Association between weight, weight perception, weight teasing and mental health among adolescents.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2024Article
- Internet Addiction and Psychological Distress: Can Social Networking Site Addiction Affect Body Uneasiness Across Gender? A Mediation Model.Europe's journal of psychology · 2024Article
- Factors associated with the adoption of extreme weight control behavior by non-obese adolescents: a secondary analysis.BMC pediatrics · 2023Article
- Reframing How Providers Advocate for Adolescent Well-Being in Body Image, Eating, and Weight.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry · 2023Article
- The role of dieting, happiness with appearance, self-esteem, and bullying in the relationship between mental health and body-mass index among UK adolescents: a longitudinal analysis of the Millennium Cohort Study.EClinicalMedicine · 2023Article
- Individualized Implementation of Youth Quality of Life Instrument-Research Version (YQOL-R) Among Chinese Adolescents with Different Weight Status.Patient preference and adherence · 2023Article
- The prevalence of underweight and obesity in Chinese children and adolescents with major depressive disorder and relationship with suicidal ideation and attempted suicide.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Article
- Examining the role that weight perception and social influences have on mental health among youth in the COMPASS study.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe purpose of this study was to explore whether the way youth perceive their weight and their experiences of bullying victimization account for the increased risk of depression and anxiety symptoms, and poor psychosocial well-being, associated with overweight/obesity in a large sample of Canadian secondary school students. We also explored if associations differed by gender.
methodsWe used cross-sectional survey data from year 7 (2018-19) of the COMPASS study. The sample included 57,059 students in grades 9-12 (Secondary III-V in Quebec) at 134 Canadian secondary schools (Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec). First, multiple regression models tested associations between body mass index (BMI) classification and mental health outcomes (anxiety [GAD-7] and depression [CESD-10] symptoms, and psychosocial well-being [Diener's Flourishing Scale]). Second, weight perception and bullying victimization were added to the models. Models were stratified by gender and controlled for sociodemographic covariates and school clustering.
resultsWhen weight perception and bullying victimization were added to the models, obesity BMI status no longer predicted internalizing symptoms and flourishing scores relative to normal-weight BMIs. Students with 'overweight' or 'underweight' perceptions, and experiences of bullying victimization in the past month, reported higher anxiety and depressive symptomatology, and lower flourishing levels, in comparison to students with 'about right' weight perceptions and without experiences of bullying victimization, respectively, controlling for BMI status. Results were largely consistent across boys and girls.
conclusionsResults suggest perceptions of weight and experiences of bullying independently contribute to differences in mental health outcomes by weight status among youth. Continued efforts targeting weight-based bullying and weight bias, and the promotion of body size acceptance and positive body image, may help reduce the risk of mental illness and poor mental health among adolescents.
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