A two-year follow-up of a primary prevention program for negative body image and unhealthy weight regulation

As a test of a prevention effect, data were collected two years after boys and girls ages 9-11 completed ten one-hour lessons designed to improve nutrition and exercise patterns, enhance body esteem, and discourage unhealthy weight management. Body esteem, use of weight loss techniques, SATAQ scores, weight concerns, and program-related knowledge were compared among three groups of young adolescent girls and boys (N = 509; ages = 11-13): participants in the elementary school program (Smolak, Levine, & Schermer, 1998a, 1998b), control participants from the same elementary schools, and new control participants from schools not included in the original study. Compared to new controls, those adolescents who received the prevention program two years earlier were more knowledgeable, used fewer unhealthy weight management techniques, and had higher body esteem. The latter difference was particularly significant for girls. Original control participants had intermediate scores, suggesting a "spillover" effect. Scores on program-related knowledge were positively correlated with better body esteem and less frequent use of weight loss techniques, and lower SATAQ scores, particularly among the girls. Findings suggest that a curricular program using cognitive social learning and developmental principles may help prevent the development of negative body image and unhealthy weight management techniques in girls and boys as they move from late childhood to early adolescence. Important methodological implications of this study for the meaning of prevention also are discussed.