Indian School Psychology Association

Journal of Child and Adolescent Behavior

Adolescent Obesity: A Barrier to Mate Selection?

Abstract

Author(s): Teresa Downing-Matibag and Florence Neymotin

The obesity epidemic is a barrier to the participation of adolescents in developmentally normative behaviors associated with mate selection, such as dating. Notably, the obesity stigma has important implications for the socioemotional development of adolescents in the realms of intimacy and peer acceptance, as well as for their future chances of marriage and healthy relationships.