Schoolgirls skipping meals for slimmer figures
Young schoolgirls are skipping meals 'due to low self-esteem'
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Tuesday, 24, Jul 2007 01:19
Nearly 60 per cent of 14 to 15-year-old girls want to lose weight despite just 12 per cent actually being overweight according to their body mass index (BMI).
That is the finding of a survey of nearly 70,000 children aged between ten and 15 conducted by the Schools Health Education Unit (SHEU).
In an attempt to slim down towards the image of size zero celebrities, the survey found that 27 per cent of year ten girls had nothing to eat for breakfast, and of that figure a quarter had nothing for lunch the previous day.
Their male counterparts appear to be less concerned with their figures; SHEU found that 20 per cent of schoolboys are overweight but half the number of 13 to 14-year-old boys want to lose weight than girls of the same age.
Females were also more likely to take their health into account when choosing what to eat.
Commenting on the findings, research manager Dr David Regis said: "We don't want to be complacent about the real problems of obesity, but far more young people are unhappy with their weight than there is any medical need to be."
He added that young females skipping meals is related to low self-esteem and general anxiety about their appearance.
"We would like to add our voice to those who wish to see a much greater variety of body shapes presented positively in print and other media," Dr Regis added.