Pre-Teens Feel Pressure To Have ‘Perfect’ Bodies

Boston, MA (AHN) – New research indicates that children as young as 10 and 11 years old are feeling the pressure to have perfect bodies.

Researchers with Harvard University and the University of Alberta studied 4,254 Canadian school children and measured their height and weight. The children were also asked how much they agreed with the statement. “I like the way I look.”

More than 7 percent of the girls in the study and almost 8 percent of the boys reported poor body satisfaction. Poor body satisfaction for normal weight, overweight and obese girls was 5.7 percent, 10.4 percent and 13.1 percent respectively. For boys, this was 7.6 percent, 8.4 percent and 8.1 percent.

The researchers said in a statement that girls from parents with less education and living in rural areas were more likely to report poor body satisfaction.

The study is published in the journal BMC Public Health.

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