Background
Adolescent dependency on smartphones is the highest among all age groups. Adolescents can be influenced to evaluate their body image by popular ideals about beautiful bodies via smartphone content, which can cause body image distortion. This study aimed to examine the association between body image distortion and smartphone dependency and the duration of smartphone usage among Korean adolescents.
Methods
This study used data from the 16th Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey (2020), and included 42,981 participants, who were grouped according to self-reported duration of smartphone usage and smartphone dependency, as measured by a questionnaire. Body image distortion is defined as an exaggerated subjective body image compared to the actual body image. Multivariable-adjusted logistic regression was used to determine the odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of body image distortion on smartphone dependency and usage time after adjusting for various factors related to body image distortion.
Results
Among the 42,981 participants, both moderate and high levels of smartphone dependency were associated with body image distortion in boys (moderate: adjusted OR [aOR], 1.11; 95% CI, 1.01–1.22; high: aOR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.05–1.32) and girls (moderate: aOR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.05–1.23; high: aOR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.18–1.42) compared to the low-level dependency group. However, no significant association was found between smartphone usage duration and body image distortion.
Conclusion
Our study demonstrated that moderate to high levels of smartphone dependency are associated with body image distortion in adolescents. Therefore, it is necessary to establish strategies for checking and managing adolescents’ smartphone dependence.

Citations

• Excessive smartphone use, smartphone dependency and body image distortion in Korean adolescents
  Young Gyu Cho
  Korean Journal of Family Medicine.2025; 46(2): 58.     CrossRef
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  Ihdaa J Abdulwahab, Jumana H Khouja, Noha A Alzahrani, Amina Bargawi
  Cureus.2024;[Epub]     CrossRef

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Background
Body image, a personal perception of the body shape, is known to influence motive to control body weight. This study aimed to evaluate perception of body image according to the weight status in children. Methods: The study participants were 442 Korean boys and girls enrolled in 2nd or 6th grade of a primary school. Heights and weights were measured by standardized method. Each child was asked to fill in a questionnaire asking about the factors which might be probably related to body image and to select a figure reflecting their current and ideal images among 7 drawings grading the extent of fatness. Weight status was classified using the age- and gender-specific cut-off points of the International Obesity Task Force based on the body mass index calculated. Chi-square test and multiple linear logistic regression test were performed. Results: Among the subjects, 17% of the children were overweight, and 4.3% were obese. Among the overweight or obesity group, the children who chose figures corresponding to fatty body image were 4% and 32%, respectively, and the children who wanted to be thinner were 27% and 47%, respectively. Only the previous trial for weight reduction was independently associated with body image distortion defined as being satisfied with current body image in overweight or obese children. Conclusion: Safe and systematic efforts providing children with adequate body image perception would be needed to prevent and manage the obesity problem, especially for overweight or obese children who think their body images as normal or who were satisfied with their current body images. (J Korean Acad Fam Med 2008;29:424-430)

Background
: Recently, the trend pursuing slimness is significantly increasing in adolescents. Because of distorted body image, excessive body weight control can cause problems of health. The goal of this study is to investigate the factors of distorted body image and its problems.

Methods : The survey was performed in a high school of Jindo island on May, 2000. All of 258 students in 1st and 2nd grade participated in this study by questionnaires. Thirteen truthless questionnaires were excluded in this study. Therefore 245 student were selected.

Results : Only 205 of 245 repliers were satisfied with their body figure. In male, 24.1% wanted weight loss, and 39.8% wanted weight gain. In female, 73% wanted weight loss. In a populations(BMI<20), 70 males wanted weight loss, whereas 35(52.2%) among 67 females want weight loss. According to these result, female stuedents wanted strongly weight loss than male. The factors which most influenced body figure were sports star in males(36.1%), and movie stars in female.(43.8%) A group of 58.4% of repliers has experienced body weight control. A group of 37% in male and 39.6% in female suffered from side effects. 77% of total hoped to be educated about adequate body weight control method.

Conclusion : Almost of adolescents dissatisfied with their body figure, Many adolescent who is not obese attempt weight loss, and are sufferd from side effects. Therefore, it is required for effective education about body weight control and social attitude permitting adequate body image.

Background
: Obesity is not only one of the risk factors that affects the prevalence and aggravation of chronic diseases, but is also the cause of social unfitness because slimness has become a standard of beauty. We surveyed on the satisfaction about self body image, the factors which are related to it and weight control behavior of the adolescents in a local area of Korea. Methods : The survey was performed in a high school of Pocheon on August, 1996. Five classes out of 14 classes in 1st and 2nd grade were selected. The body mass index(BMI) was calculated from the measured height and weight. The satisfaction about body image which was estimated by the difference between present body image and wanted body image in 9 graded figures of body image was obtained from the questionnaire. The information about sex, religion, history of being teased about body image, body image of their parents, mean duration of watching TV in a day, body esteem, and binge-eating was obtained from the questionnaire and we evaluated the relationship between all of the above with BMI and body image satisfaction. We also investigated on the interest in education about weight control and efforts made by adolescents from the questionnaire on weight control behavior. Results : Total of224 students participated in this study and only 14.7% of them were satisfied with their body image. 58.9% wanted weight reduction and 26.4% wanted weight gain. They were more dis-satisfied with their body image when they were girls(p<0.01), had the experience of being teased about their body image(p<0.01), had low body esteem(p<0.01), and had high BMI(p<0.01). We could not find statistically significant relationship between body image satisfaction and other factors such as religion, the duration of watching TV in a day, the body image of their parents and binge eating. 64.3% of the subjects tried to control their weight and most(87.5%) tried to lose wight. The selected methods were diet control(65.3%) and exercise(52.1%) and the most preferred method of diet control was skipping meals(45.7%). Conclusion : Most of adolescents were not satisfied with their body image and this dissatisfaction was related to gender, history of being teased about their body image, BMI, and body esteem. Many of them had tried to lose weight and among the methods of weight reduction, there behaviors that were injurious to their health and growth.