'Feeling fat' hits teens' quality of life more than actually being it

Washington, June 21 : The quality of life of teenagers who feel that they fall in the 'too fat' category is worse than the adolescents who are actually obese, finds a new study.

The results of the study were based on the Germany Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS) of the Robert Koch Institute.

During the study, almost 7000 boys and girls aged between 11 and 17 years were weighed and asked about their self-assessment, ranging from "far too thin" to "far too fat."

In addition, they all completed a questionnaire about quality of life. As a result of their analysis, the scientists established that about three quarters of adolescents are of normal weight.

Almost 55percent of the girls, but just under 36percent of the boys thought that they were "too fat," although only about 18percent of the adolescents were actually overweight.

Seven to eight percent of the adolescents were underweight.

The quality of life is lower in obese adolescents. However, this correlates to a large extent with self-evaluation.

If adolescents think they are "far too fat," they forfeit a lot of their quality of life, whatever their actual weight. This is particularly marked with girls. On the other hand, if they consider their weight "just right," their quality of life is the same as if they were of normal weight, even if this is not true.

The study has been presented in the current edition of Deutsches Arzteblatt International.

ANI