Within this generally healthy cohort, boys were more likely to be overweight/obese than girls, although paradoxically boys were more satisfied with their appearance. Nordic girls constitute a group with particularly high risk of reporting low body self-esteem and chronic morbidity. In the longer term, the current cross-sectional data on body size, lifestyle and health will provide important baseline information for future follow-up studies of health outcomes in later life.

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The objective was to update the factor structure of the Gothenburg Well-Being scale (GWB) for use in older adolescents. A cross-sectional population of final-year high school students (17-20 years; N = 5395) completed three questionnaires with classroom administration as part of a larger investigation into health and lifestyle. Students completed the GWB, which is composed of 43 polar-opposite adjective VAS scales, the RS-11 resilience questionnaire and an 8-item Body Image scale. Model fit to the previously data-derived six-factor model (GWB Child) was tested. The data were then randomly divided into training and test datasets and a theoretically hypothesised model was tested and revised. Model 1 did not have adequate model fit. The theoretically hypothesised Model 2 had better fit; however, a modified model (Model 3 GWB Adolescent), using nine questions loading on factors of Mood, Stress Balance and Activation with one general factor of Well-being, was found to meet all model fit criteria (GFI .978; TLI .970, CFI .980; RMSEA .059). Measurement invariance was attested across datasets and gender. Internal reliability was satisfactory (Cronbach's alpha 0.59). Convergent validity was demonstrated by correlation with resilience (r = .42) and body image (r = .35). Discriminant known-groups analysis gave results in the predicted direction for gender. The findings contribute to the validity of the GWB Adolescent, which explores relevant elements of well-being in late adolescence and can be used for group comparisons. Further testing is required to identify relationships with independent aspects of late adolescent life and clinical variables.

In situations when optimal screening sensitivity is required for identifying as many high-risk children as possible, the World Health Organization 2007 and the Swedish body mass index reference 2001 performed better than the International Obesity Task Force 2012. However, it is important to keep in mind that the International Obesity Task Force 2012 will identify the fewest false positives.