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Weight comments by family and significant others in young adulthood
Marla E Eisenberg1, Jerica M Berge, Jayne A Fulkerson
1Division of Adolescent Health and Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, 717 Delaware St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA. eisen012@umn.edu
Abstract:
Weight teasing is common among adolescents, but less is known about the continuation of this experience during young adulthood. The present study uses survey data from a diverse sample of 2287 young adults, who participated in a 10-year longitudinal study of weight-related issues to examine hurtful weight comments by family members or a significant other. Among young adults, 35.9% of females and 22.8% of males reported receiving hurtful weight-related comments by family members, and 21.2% of females and 23.8% of males with a significant other had received hurtful weight-related comments from this source. Hispanic and Asian young adults and overweight/obese young adults were more likely to report receiving comments than those in other groups. Weight teasing during adolescence predicted hurtful weight-related comments in young adulthood, with some differences by gender. Findings suggest that hurtful weight talk continues into young adulthood and is predicted by earlier weight teasing experiences.
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