A Study Of The Weight Impact On Chinese Adolescents Mental Health

As the implementation of the "Healthy China" initiative,the mental health development of adolescents has received widespread attention from the whole society.Mental disorders not only affect adolescents’ studies and daily life,but also affect their accumulation of human capital,especially health capital,and bring huge economic and disease burdens to China.As mental disorders of adolescents are increasingly serious in China,it is of great practical significance to clarify the factors affecting adolescents’ mental health.There is much literature on external factors,but the studies on personal factors are still insufficient,especially the factor of weight.Since adolescents are particularly concerned about their physical appearance,their psychological state will change as their weights change.However,given the unique national conditions and culture in China,it is still unclear how weight affect the mental health of Chinese adolescents.In this context,based on the data of China Family Panel Studies(CFPS)in 2014,this paper focuses on the personal factors,and studies the causal impact of weight on the mental health of Chinese adolescents and relevant mechanisms.This paper uses Body Mass Index(BMI)to measure the individual’s weight.To address the endogenous problems,this paper adds the instrumental variable in the empirical model and uses the Two-Stage Least Squares methodology to do the regressions.After checking the robustness,this paper further analyzes the heterogeneity in different groups.Also,this paper discusses the relevant mechanisms.This study finds that,an increase in BMI decreases mental disorders in adolescents.When the BMI z-score of adolescents increases by 1 unit,the mental health score(K6)decreases by 0.766 points.And these results are mainly driven by effects on adolescents from primary schools,wealthier households,and regular schools.Additionally,the increase of BMI improves the mental health by improving self-image.Meanwhile,both a good relationship with parents and a great social image can improve the mental health of adolescents.However,this paper does not find that BMI z-score significantly affects adolescents’ relationship with their parents and their social image.Based on the above findings,this paper puts forward relevant policy suggestions from the perspectives of individuals,families and society.