Likemany Western youth, Chinese adolescents and young adults also have expresseddissatisfaction with body size and shape (20-22).

Moreover, research has demonstrated that body image concerns were associatedwith concerns about appearanceW1 IY2 , low self-esteem, depression, and stressfulin large samples of Chinese children and adolescents (10, 21, 23).In extreme cases, such concerns can lead to eating disorders and even suicidalideation (9, 24).In a population-representative study of Hong Kong adolescents, significant sexdifferences in body size misperception were reported (25).

Girls were more likely to misperceive their body size than boys. Sexdifferences in this characteristic have been reported among 9– to 10-year-oldchildren in Beijing (23). Itbecomes increasingly important to understand the extent of body imagemisperception and the associations between it and unhealthy eating behaviors inthis population. However, few previous studies have tested the relationshipbetween weight misperception and eating behaviors. This study was therefore designedto assess the associations between body weight misperception and unhealthyeating behaviors among a cohort of Chinese adolescents.