Teenage boys who view themselves as too skinny even though they are at a healthy weight, have a higher risk of depression when compared to other boys, including those who think they are overweight, according to a study the Huffington Post reported.

Researchers found that although boys who view themselves as overweight have an increased risk of depression in their teen years and later in life, their risk is not as significant as the boys who think they are very underweight, The Huffington Post reported.

"Teenage girls tend to internalize and strive for a thin appearance, whereas teenage boys tend to emphasize a more muscular body type. We found that some of these boys who feel they are unable to achieve that often unattainable image are suffering and may be taking drastic measures," Aaron Blashill, staff psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and faculty member at Harvard Medical School told ANI News.

The study, published in the journal Psychology of Men & Masculinity, included 2,139 boys who were followed for 13 years starting from when they were 16 in 1996. About every six years, the participants took surveys about every answering their perceptions of their weight; they also had their depressive symptoms assessed and their body mass index measured.

Based on their findings, researchers saw a link between perceptions of being underweight and symptoms of depression. The association between the two lasted until the end of the study, while the participants were nearly age 30, The Huffington Post reported.

A related study, also recently published in the journal Psychology of Men & Masculinity, found a link between reporting being underweight, being a victim of bullying and experiencing symptoms of depression. Being a victim of bullying and experience depressive symptoms are predictors of steroid use in boys and men. Based on their findings, researchers concluded that teenage boys who feel like they are too skinny when they are average weight or higher are more likely to use steroids than other boys their age.

"These studies highlight the often underreported issue of distorted body image among adolescent boys," Blashill said in the report.

The research was based on two large, nationally representative samples of teenage boys in the U.S.