What Role Does Body Image in Relationship between Level of Health Literacy and Symptoms of Eating Disorders in Adolescents?

Abstract

(1) Background: The aim of this study was to explore the associations between health literacy and symptoms for eating disorders among adolescents, taking into consideration age and gender and whether this association is mediated by body image. (2) Methods: We used data on 5054 adolescents (mean age = 13.9, 51.7% boys) from the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children study conducted in 2018 in Slovakia. We used logistic regression models to examine associations between level of health literacy and symptoms for eating disorders mediated by body image. (3) Results: Adolescents with low and medium levels of health literacy had a higher occurrence of reporting two or more symptoms of eating disorders (odds ratio (OR)/95% CI: 2.25/1.78–2.84 and 1.37/1.15–1.65). Adjustment for body image reduced the significance of association between low level of health literacy and symptoms for eating disorders by 26.4%, and association between medium level of health literacy and symptoms for eating disorders by 29.7%. (4) Conclusions: Adolescents who have a low health literacy level were found to have a higher probability of having symptoms for eating disorders, especially when they perceive themselves as fat. The study refers to potential theoretical frameworks for health literacy intervention that may provide guidelines for the intervention design and materials.

Gangguan Makan pada Remaja Dipengaruhi Oleh Media Sosial Melalui Citra Tubuh Negatif

“…Fenomena yang menyebabkan timbulnya citra tubuh negatif mampu menurunkan kepercayaan diri remaja karena penampilan tubuh yang dianggap kurang menarik sehingga berkorelasi dengan kejadian gangguan makan (Saunders & Eaton, 2018). Semakin rendah citra tubuh yang dimiliki remaja diketahui berbanding terbalik terhadap tingginya gangguan makan yang dialami (Štefanová et al, 2020), sehingga meningkatkan risiko untuk remaja mengalami gangguan makan hingga kategori berat (Boberová & Husárová, 2021;Virgandiri et al, 2020). Gangguan makan yang terjadi karena intensitas penggunaan media sosial yang tinggi diketahui tidak hanya terjadi pada remaja perempuan, melainkan juga dapat terjadi pada remaja laki-laki (Wilksch et al, 2019).…”

Therapeutic Outcome of Self-Control and Social Interaction Interventions on Negative Body Image among in-school Adolescents with Low Health literacy in Southwest Nigeria

“…Body dissatisfaction is reported to be the major determiner of eating disorders, social anxiety disorder and body image disturbances. There is evidence that adolescents with low health literacy have higher probability of having negative body image than their counterpart with high health literacy (Boberová, & Husárová, 2021). They argue that low health literacy has the potential to impact a broad array of functional skills that are required to make health decisions in various settings.…”

“…Previous studies in this field of study were majorly descriptive surveys (Koleoso et al, 2018;Asagba et al, 2016;Boberová, & Husárová, 2021). Surveys can reveal import-ant information about people's behaviours and attitude, but they do not have capacity to establish cause and effect relationship.…”

“…This cultural value will seem to influence significanly the adolescent's quest to conform to societal standard. Body image is a multidimensional concept comprising perceptual, attitudinal and affective components (Boberová, & Husárová, 2021). Body image generally refers to how one perceives one's body and the resultant feelings about that perception.…”

Oral Health Literacy, Sense of Coherence and Associations With Poor School Performance

“…A relevant predictor of students' health status is their level of health literacy (HL), as well as that of their families 12,13 . WHO defines HL as “the cognitive and social skills that determine the motivation and ability of individuals to gain access to understanding and using information in ways that promote and maintain good health.” 14 Studies have shown that adolescents with low levels of HL showed lower frequency of health‐promoting behaviors, 15,16 worse health status, and poorer quality of life 17 which, in turn, could interfere with their academic performance 12 . Moreover, poor oral health hygiene has been associated with school absenteeism 18 .…”