Weight control in university students

A total of 1858 students of United Kingdom origin aged between 18 and 20 years of age completed questionnaires which investigated present weight, bingeing, vomiting and weight control. Men were significantly more likely than women to be overweight, while women were significantly more likely to be underweight. One-third of the women were actively controlling weight, with dieting as the preferred method, while over half had attempted weight control in the past three years. Daily or more frequent bingeing was reported by 1.9% of men and 1.2% of women. There was a statistically significant relationship between weight control and bingeing. Eleven percent of men and 24% of women thought they had a problem with weight control, although amongst both men and women the proportion who felt they were overweight was in excess of the proportion who actually were overweight. It is suggested that health education programmes should take account of the pressures upon young women to conform to predetermined ideals in terms of body weight.