We suspected it a little but this time, it’s confirmed: our bathroom scale wants us badly. A new clinical study led by researchers at the University of Minnesota (United States) has just shown that young girls who weigh themselves frequently have a higher risk than others of developing psychological disorders: depressed, depression, lower self-esteem etc. It makes you think !
It must be said that when one is complexed by his body, the passage on the scale is very often a disappointment. Which can lead to blues or worse. To come to this conclusion, the scientists followed 2000 young girls during a period of 10 years (1998-2008).
Parents: stay vigilant
Surprise: at the end of the experience, the teenage girls who had declared weighing themselves “often”, even “more and more often” were also those who presented the most psychological disorders. “We carried out the same study with young men, but the relationship between psychological health and the frequency of weighings was not so obvious”, explain the scientists, who published their work in the scientific journal Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.
“Parents must remain vigilant vis-à-vis the complexes of their teens,” they add. It is easier to start a discussion about a child’s body (and how it relates to their body) than to help them get out of depression or restore their self-esteem. In addition, paradoxically, the psychological disorders caused by an omnipresent obsession with slimming can lead to obesity. Parents’ attention is therefore essential. “
To read: Depression, the first disease in teenagers.
