Across two international surveys, the gender gap holds across body size and background, and it widens in some higher-status groups and more developed countries.

Girls report significantly higher body dissatisfaction than boys across two large international adolescent surveys. This gap persists regardless of Body Mass Index, socioeconomic background, age, or country, and body dissatisfaction connects more strongly to lower life satisfaction and self-efficacy for girls. The gap varies by subgroup and country, and much of that variation is driven by differences in girls’ dissatisfaction levels.

Quick summary

• What the study found: Across both surveys, girls were more dissatisfied with their bodies than boys; body dissatisfaction was more tightly linked to lower life satisfaction and more negative feelings for girls.
• Why it matters: Body dissatisfaction may be one pathway contributing to wider gender gaps in well-being outcomes, and country-level patterns track with broader gender gaps in depression, eating disorders, and life satisfaction.
• What to be careful about: Country comparisons are stronger in the survey with more countries, and the results document associations, not proof of cause-and-effect.

What was found

In Gender differences in body dissatisfaction: A large-scale investigation among adolescents using two international surveys, girls reported higher body dissatisfaction than boys in both international datasets.

The gender gap appeared in two measures: a multi-item index capturing dissatisfaction with weight, appearance, and body, and a single item reflecting perceiving oneself as “too fat.” In one dataset, about a quarter of boys versus more than a third of girls reported disliking their bodies.

The gap held after controls, including Body Mass Index, socioeconomic measures, and indicators like life satisfaction and feelings. The authors note this robustness argues against explaining the gap as merely girls having higher Body Mass Index or a general tendency toward negative feelings.

What it means

Body dissatisfaction was associated with lower life satisfaction and more negative feelings for both genders, but these links were stronger for girls. The same rise in dissatisfaction corresponded to a larger rise in feeling miserable for girls than for boys in the analyses reported.

Body dissatisfaction also appeared to be more central to girls’ self-evaluations, showing stronger ties to self-efficacy. Self-efficacy means believing you can handle challenges and reach goals; lower self-efficacy is a broad risk factor for poorer mental health.

Where it fits

Body dissatisfaction is widely understood as shaped by social comparison, internalized appearance ideals, and self-objectification pressures. Those forces can intensify in environments that reward performance and visibility, which helps interpret why gaps were larger among higher-performing students and higher socioeconomic groups.

Across countries, gender gaps varied substantially and were mainly driven by girls’ levels differing more from country to country than boys’. Countries with larger gender gaps in body dissatisfaction also showed wider gender disparities in life satisfaction, eating disorders, and depression.

How to use it

For schools and youth programs, treat body dissatisfaction as a well-being issue, not a vanity issue. Pair media literacy with skills that reduce appearance-based social comparison and strengthen competence-based identity (sports, arts, volunteering, leadership).

For clinicians, assess body dissatisfaction routinely when girls present with low mood, stress, or low life satisfaction. When body dissatisfaction is prominent, target it directly with cognitive and behavioral strategies, not only general mood work.

For parents, shift praise toward effort, values, and abilities, and reduce “body talk” at home. Model neutral, functional language about bodies, and intervene when appearance becomes the main currency of status.

Limits & what we still don’t know

This journal article reports robust cross-national patterns, but it is still observational: associations cannot establish that body dissatisfaction causes lower well-being. Some outcomes were available in one dataset but not the other, limiting like-for-like comparisons.

Country-level findings were more feasible in the dataset with more countries, while the smaller country set constrained some cross-country analyses. The study also points to social norms and stereotypes as potential drivers, but those mechanisms remain only partly explained.

Closing takeaway

The core message is consistent: girls report higher body dissatisfaction than boys across countries, and it is more psychologically consequential for girls. The biggest leverage points are earlier prevention, reducing appearance-based norms, and strengthening non-appearance sources of self-worth.

Data in this article is provided by PLOS.

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