Introduction:

Both malnutrition due to excess and mental health diseases have affected young people and it has been sought to know how they affect each other. The objective of this review was to determine if malnutrition due to excess affects the mental health and/or self-concept of the child and adolescent population.

Material and method:

An integrative review of the literature was carried out in the period between 2016 and 2021 through the databases: PubMed, LILACS and EBSCO. Initially, 3,985 articles were identified, where only 9 met inclusion and exclusion criteria, among which the availability of the full text for free or through the databases of the Universidad Nacional Andrés Bello stands out.

Results

: Children/adolescents diagnosed with problems of malnutrition due to excess experience psychosocial difficulties due to their self-perception, depending not only on their physical condition, but also on socioeconomic, family, and social factors, establishing a direct bidirectional relationship.

Discussion:

From early childhood certain patterns of behavior and learning are acquired that guide the behavior of each individual, within these guidelines are gender stereotypes, beauty standards implemented by society and the media, these are directly related to the problems of self-perception and self-esteem present in the child-juvenile population, affecting the female gender in a greater percentage.

Conclusion:

Nursing professionals should intervene from an early age in the promotion and prevention of physical and mental health in the child and adolescent population.

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