Gender Differences in the Association Between Peer Acceptance, BMI, and Diet: Evidence From a Survey of Saudi Youth

Being well liked by one’s peers is an important aspect of adolescent well-being and shapes school social systems. Researchers have consistently documented the correlates and consequences of being well liked, though mostly in Western samples from American or European schools. While prior research has focused largely on behaviors that either complement or conflict with institutional norms, we extend the scope of these investigations to health-related diet and weight in a unique sample of Saudi youth. We find that BMI is associated with peer acceptance differently for boys and girls: For girls, higher BMI is generally associated with lower peer acceptance across the entire range of BMI, consistent with a “thinner-is-better” norm. For boys, the relationship is statistically stronger and clearly curvilinear, with both underweight and overweight boys receiving fewer nominations than middle-weight boys. We find that reporting eating unhealthy foods is associated with greater peer acceptance for both males and females. Combined, these results suggest that Saudi girls may face contradictory expectations: to be well liked they must be thin, but students who eat non-fattening foods are less well liked.