You really can THINK yourself fat: Teenagers who believe they're overweight are 'more likely to be obese¹ later in life

心“想”胖成：总认为自己胖的青少年，长大后你可能真的变胖子。

Teenagers who mistakenly perceive themselves as overweight are actually at greater risk of obesity² as adults, new research has revealed.

新研究显示，如果青少年认为自己比实际更胖，那他们成年后会更容易患肥胖症。

Researchers suggest people who wrongly believe they are overweight may be more likely to engage in unhealthy weight-control behaviors such as using diet pills or vomiting³ - and these, in turn, are linked with long-term weight gain.

研究者提出，人们如果以为自己太胖，就更容易做出不当瘦身行为，如吃减肥药、催吐等。从长远意义上看，这其实更容易使你增肥。

And it was boys, rather than girls, who were most at risk.

而且，男孩比女孩更容易受心理错估的影响。

'Our research shows that psychological factors are important in the development of obesity,' said study author Angelina Sutin, a psychological scientist at Florida State University.

本次研究作者，佛罗里达州立大学的心理学家安吉丽娜·苏汀表示“我们的研究显示心理因素在肥胖症的罹患中起着重要作用。”

In previous work, Dr Sutin and her study co-author, Antonio Terracciano, had found that people who were judged on their weight were more likely to be obese.

在之前的研究中，苏汀博士与她的合著者安东尼奥·特拉奇亚诺已经发现因为体重而被说三道四的人，更容易换上肥胖症。

Extending these findings, they wondered whether individuals' own perceptions of their weight might be just as harmful, especially during the teenage years.

由此引申，她们想知道人们（尤其是青少年）对自己身材的看法是否会影响真实体重。

The researchers used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.

研究者使用国家青少年健康纵向研究的数据。

This enabled them to examine the height, weight, and body image thoughts of more than 6,500 young people when they were 16 and 28 years old.

她们对比了超过6500组数据，参与者在16岁和28岁时分别记录了身高、体重和他们对自己身材的看法。

At age 16, the participants were asked to rate how they thought of themselves in terms of weight, with response options ranging from very underweight (a score of 1) to very overweight (a score of 5).

参与者在16岁时，被要求为自己的体重打分，回答选项由过轻（1分）到超重（5分）。

The researchers were specifically interested in looking at the outcomes for teenagers who saw themselves as overweight, even though they were a healthy weight by medical standards.

研究者特别注意到一些声称超重的青少年，其实他们的体重在医学标准上属于健康范畴。

Compared to those who perceived their weight accurately⁴, young people who wrongly perceived themselves as being overweight had a 40 per cent greater risk of becoming obese as adults.

相较于那些正确评价自己体重的青少年，觉得自己更胖的人有高出前者40%的机率在成年后患上肥胖症。

But why would seeing themselves as heavier than they actually are predispose teens to later weight gain?

可是为什么觉得自己太胖，会把人真的往这个方向上推呢？

As well as being more likely to adopt unhealthy behaviours such as using diet pills or vomiting, these people may also have less self control, the study suggests.

研究显示除了更容易做出吃减肥药和催吐的行为，他们还可能有更弱的自制能力。

'The teens are likely also influenced by weight-related stigmatisation, which is itself associated with obesity.

他们还可能受到过与体重相关的歧视行为，这种歧视本身也与肥胖症有相关性。

Ultimately, these factors may result in a self-fulfilling prophecy, they say.

研究者认为，这些因素综合起来将形成一种心理预期，而你就是实现自己预言的人。

But why would boys be more affected⁵ than girls?

可是为什么男生更容易受这个心理预期影响？

'It may be that girls are more attentive⁶ to their weight and may intervene earlier when they experience any weight gain. As such, the self-fulfilling prophecy may be stronger for boys than for girls.' says Dr Sutin.

Sutin博士说：“这可能因为女生对体重更在意，她们在有点变胖时就会立即做出干预。因此，心理预期的作用在男生身上会更明显。”

She suggests that healthcare professionals may also notice weight gain sooner for girls than for boys, or may be more likely to address any weight gain with girls than with boys.

她还认为医疗人员可能更容易注意到女生的体重变化；或者比起男生，女生体形变胖会更明显。