Weight, Weight Perceptions, and Health and Well-Being Among Canadian Adolescents: Evidence From the 2017-2018 Canadian Community Health Survey

Purpose: The present study examines the extent to which (mis)matched weight and weight perceptions predict adolescents’ self-rated health, mental health, and life satisfaction. Design: Quantitative, cross-sectional study. Setting: Data from the 2017-2018 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS)—a nationally representative sample collected by Statistics Canada. Participants: Canadian adolescents aged between 12 and 17 (n = 8,081). Measures: The dependent variables are self-rated health, mental health, and life satisfaction. The independent variable is (mis)matched weight and weight perceptions. Analysis: We perform a series of ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models. Results: Overweight adolescents with overweight perceptions are associated with poorer self-rated health (b = −.546, p < .001 for boys; b = −.476, p < .001 for girls), mental health (b = −.278, p < .001 for boys; b = −.433, p < .001 for girls), and life satisfaction (b = −.544, p < .001 for boys; b = −.617, p < .001 for girls) compared to their counterparts with normal weight and normal weight perceptions. Similar patterns have also been observed among normal weight adolescents with overweight perceptions (e.g., normal weight adolescents with overweight perceptions are associated with poorer self-rated health (b = −.541, p < .01 for boys; b = −.447, p < .001 for girls)). Conclusion: Normal weight adolescents are not immune to adverse self-rated health, mental health, and life satisfaction because their weight perceptions are also a contributing factor to health and well-being consequences.