Go for the flakes! Excessive weight loss in adolescents affects development

"Inner beauty is more important than outer beauty!" This famous saying that everyone knows may not be put into practice in real life. A survey conducted by a children's welfare group found that 23% of young people in the country are dissatisfied with their appearance and body shape. Some female students with normal BMI consider themselves to be overweight. In order to pursue a "thin body" like celebrities and models, they only eat salads for lunch to lose weight. In the long run, they may suffer from malnutrition and stunted development.

Many adolescent girls have the wrong aesthetic concept of "the thinner the better", and often only eat salads at noon to lose weight, which may lead to malnutrition in the long run.

Children's Alliance: 23% of teenagers rate their body image as poor

In order to be beautiful, teenagers not only try to lose weight, but also pay more attention to their body shape. According to a questionnaire survey on "body image" conducted by the Child Welfare Alliance Cultural and Educational Foundation on 2,791 junior and senior high school students across the country, it was found that 23.8% of teenagers were dissatisfied with their body shape and appearance, with body image scores less than 60 points. The proportion of girls was higher than that of boys, and there were more high school students than junior high school students.

Further analysis of students' satisfaction with their own body parts revealed that the top three dissatisfied parts for girls were legs, waist and abdomen, and skin color, while for boys were muscle strength, legs, and waist and abdomen. The reason for this has a lot to do with teenagers' physical aesthetics.

Chen Liru, executive director of the Children's Alliance, said that influenced by the media, peers and family, the ideal beauty in the minds of modern boys and girls must have long legs, fair skin, double eyelids and a straight nose; handsome boys must be over 180 cm tall, have a straight nose, double eyelids and six-pack abs.

A survey conducted by the Children's Alliance found that among the 23.2% of adolescent students who are dieting to lose weight, as many as 64.6% have a normal or underweight BMI.

To create a new image, makeup, dieting, and plastic surgery are the top three choices

Regarding the perception of aesthetics, the survey also found that 34.7% believed that appearance is more important than inner qualities, and 63.7% believed that good-looking people are associated with better interpersonal relationships. This kind of aesthetic thinking is also reflected in behavioral attitudes. Surveys show that junior high and high school students most often use "dressing up" to change their appearance. Girls mainly use skin care and makeup, while boys rely on fitness and hairstyles to make themselves "refreshed."

Another 23.2% of teenagers are dieting to lose weight, and the proportion of girls (26.2%) is significantly higher than that of boys (19.5%). Chen Liru said that it is worth noting that among teenagers who are dieting to lose weight, 64.6% have a normal or underweight BMI. If they blindly pursue the aesthetic of "thinner and thinner", excessive dieting may affect nutrient absorption and health, and may even lead to symptoms of pathological anorexia or binge eating.

As for plastic surgery, 24.6% believed that the benefits outweigh the risks, and 13% were considering plastic surgery in the future, with the proportion of girls being twice as high as that of boys.

Don’t have cosmetic surgery too early! The minimum age requirement is 18 years

In this regard, plastic surgeon Su Maoren reminded that from a medical point of view, children aged 14 to 18 are in the period of rapid development in adolescence and should not undergo "unnecessary surgery." Although there were no restrictions in medical regulations in the past, and many students under the age of 18 underwent double eyelid and rhinoplasty surgeries with the consent and accompaniment of their parents, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced at the beginning of the year that doctors are prohibited from performing non-medically necessary cosmetic surgeries, including plastic surgery and micro-plastic surgery, on minors under the age of 18.

A survey conducted by the Children's League found that adolescent students generally think that their appearance is not beautiful enough, and called for inner beauty, such as healthy beauty, diverse beauty, and confident beauty, to overcome outer beauty. (Photography by Luo Huiwen)

Dr. Su Maoren said, "Plastic surgery is a road of no return." It is difficult or impossible to restore your original appearance if you regret it. Moreover, if you rashly undergo plastic surgery before reaching the appropriate physiological age, not only will the effect not last long, but it will also be more likely to affect your health. Although excluding comprehensive factors such as mental health, nose development is generally completed at the physiological age of 14, but due to existing regulations, rhinoplasty must wait until after the age of 18.

The stagnation period of female breast development is mostly after the physiological age of 20 years old. Clinically, it is recommended that those who use saline bag breast augmentation should be at least 20 years old, and those who use silicone breast augmentation should be at least 22 years old. It is particularly important to note that for double eyelid surgery, which is the number one plastic surgery item, the patient must be at least 20 years old in order to achieve stable and lasting results and reduce the risk of the folds disappearing in the future.