The mirror's curse: Weight perceptions mediate the link between physical activity and life satisfaction among 727,865 teens in 44 countries.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

The present study aimed to examine the link between physical activity (PA) and life satisfaction in a large international study of adolescents. We also aimed to test whether overweight and underweight perceptions act as mediators and whether age and sex acted as moderators.

Methods

For this purpose, we analyzed data from the Health Behavior in School-aged Children study, which comprises 727,865 observations from 44 nations at 4 measurement occasions.

Results

Multilevel analyses revealed a positive link between PA and life satisfaction. In addition, underweight and overweight perceptions mediated the effect of PA on life satisfaction. We further found that age and sex acted as moderators. In older adolescents, stronger effects were found in the links between PA

SUBMITTER: Meyer S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7856557 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature