Weighed down
WANTING to look good is part of being a teenager, but according to a new report, widely publicised this week, from the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, young Irish people are more concerned about their image than many of their international counterparts.
The survey, of 2,100 teens, entitled How We See It: Report of a Survey on Young People’s Body Image, showed that 77% said their body image was important to them (compared to only 32% of Australian teens), and a worrying 43% were dissatisfied with their body shape. Almost twice as many girls (52%) as boys (29%) exercised to control their weight, with four times as many boys (50%) as girls (12%) using exercise to build muscle.
