OBJECTIVE: To verify the prevalence of body dissatisfaction in adolescents and its association with socioeconomic, behavioral, anthropometric, and psychosocial factors, especially with the presence of common mental disorders. METHODS: Adolescents from a school in Itajaí, Southern Brazil, had anthropometric measurements for body mass index analysis, and completed a questionnaire on personal data and common mental disorders. The primary outcome was the presence of body dissatisfaction and the adjusted analysis of associated factors was performed by Poisson regression. Prevalence ratios and their respective 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were calculated. RESULTS: A total of 214 adolescents (77.5%) with a mean age of 12.4, years predominantly females (65.4%), were enrolled. Most of the adolescents were classified as eutrophic (79.4%), and 28.0% had indicative scores for common mental disorders. The prevalence of body dissatisfaction was 74.3% (95%CI 67.9-80.0). Factors identified as associated with body dissatisfaction were: lower maternal schooling, abdominal obesity, perception of the nutritional state as above or below the weight, interference of physical shape in daily activities, and relationships. The presence of common mental disorders was associated with body dissatisfaction after adjusted analysis at the level of 6.6%. CONCLUSIONS: Most adolescents presented body mass index and waist circumference within the normal range; however, high prevalence of body dissatisfaction was noted in both genders. Maternal variables and behaviors related to body weight were associated with the outcome. In relation to the common mental disorders, the association was close to the adopted significance threshold.
body image; adolescents; mental disorders; body mass index
