YouthBeat Survey: Youths Happy with How They Look - Kind Of

CHICAGO, Nov. 10, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- For all the talk about the obesity epidemic that's afflicting America's young people, a slim majority of youth – 51 percent – is still "happy with the way [they] look," according to a new survey by the YouthBeat youth insights service of C&R Research, Chicago.

That sentiment, however, shifts substantially among age groups: While 30 percent of tweens (grades five through eight) are happy with their appearance, only 18 percent of teens (grades nine through 12) feel the same way. And while self-image is typically believed to be a larger concern among girls, boys are not immune to this issue: Only 35 percent of the boys in the survey group strongly agree that "I feel happy with the way I look."

The survey was fielded among a nationally representative sample of children in first through 12th grades.

"Young people are faced with conflicting messages. On one hand, they're being asked to be vigilant about their weight. On the other, they're being told that they should accept themselves and their appearance," said Amy Henry, vice president of Youth Insights at C&R Research.  

When it comes to body image, cultural differences matter.  YouthBeat's data showed that African-American youth, for example, have far more positive body images than their Hispanic or Caucasian peers. Nearly half (48 percent) of those in the survey group "strongly agree" with the statement that they are happy with the way they look, compared to 33 percent of Hispanic youth and 30 percent of Caucasian youth.

Henry suggested that the findings raise the issue of how adults can effectively communicate the idea of being healthy without glorifying thinness. "What's especially challenging is that youths can be inclined toward extremes, and might feel more conflicted than they feel communicated with," Henry added.

For information on YouthBeat, contact Henry at 312.828.9200 or visit www.youthbeat.com.

Chicago-based C&R Research (www.crresearch.com) is one of the nation's largest, independent full-service research firms. Since 1959, it has provided custom-designed qualitative and quantitative research for a wide variety of business-to-business and business-to-consumer clients. In addition to YouthBeat, its specialty research expertise includes youth, boomers, parents and shoppers.

Media contact: Sally Saville Hodge, Hodge Media Strategies, 773.325.9282 or [email protected].

SOURCE C&R Research