Assessing the Role of Mental Health Literacy in Shaping Adolescent Health Attitudes and Its Association with Obesity in China

Objectives: Mental health literacy plays an important role in influencing the health attitudes and behaviors of the individuals. Therefore, the current study has also focused on determining the role of mental health literacy (MHL) in influencing the health attitudes among adolescent and their association with obesity within the context of China. Methods: For this purpose, a mixed method design was utilized and a total sample of 240 adolescents, including 120 adolescents with obesity and 120 adolescents without obesity were considered. A self-formulated questionnaire was administered to these participants. At the same time, in-depth interviews were also conducted with the selected participants. Results: The findings obtained from this study show that the adolescents without obesity have higher mental health literacy (mean= 21.15 and SD= 306) than adolescents with obesity (mean= 19.83 and SD= 2.85). As a result, the adolescents without obesity are likelier to have a better attitude towards adequate eating. Conclusion: Therefore, it has been observed that the adolescents with better mental health literacy are less attracted towards junk food and prefer healthy food which keeps them active. The current study will also provide important implications to promote MHL among the adolescents in order to improve their health attitudes.