Association of thin-ideal media exposure, body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behaviors among adolescents in Taiwan

•Media pressure and thin-ideal internalization increased body dissatisfaction.•Media pressure and body dissatisfaction predicted restrained eating.•Media pressure and body dissatisfaction predicted unhealthy weight control behaviors.

ObjectiveThe present study examined the relationships between thin-ideal media exposure, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating behaviors among adolescents in Taiwan.MethodA total of 2992 students in the 10th grade were recruited from 26 high schools in Taipei, Taiwan to complete a questionnaire in 2010.ResultsThe results showed that the adolescents were exposed to thin-ideal messages a few times a week. Females had higher levels of thin-ideal media exposure, media pressure to be thin, thin-ideal internalization, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating behaviors than males. Multivariate logistic regression results indicated that media pressure and thin-deal internalization significantly increased the likelihood of body dissatisfaction, while media pressure and body dissatisfaction contributed to both restrained eating and unhealthy weight control behaviors, when all other variables were controlled for.