Racial/ethnic identity and perceived body image among Canadian adolescents.

The perception of one's own body image is an important determinant of adolescent health. While positive body image is associated with health-promoting behaviours, negative body image may be related to engagement in health-compromising risk behaviours. Hypothetically, an adolescent's perceived body image may also be influenced by racial/cultural ideals and related gendered expectations, governed by social norms within distinct cultural groups.

Correlations between weight perception and overt risk-taking among Canadian adolescents.

Objective: Perceptions of body weight represent an important health issue for Canadian adolescents. While associations between weight perception and mental health concerns like eating disorder symptomatology are well established, there is need for more Canadian evidence about how weight perception is associated with overt risk-taking among adolescents, and further how such associations differ by biological sex.

Methods: We conducted a national analysis of grade 9-10 students participating in the 2017-2018 cycle of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study in Canada.