Employed women, dieting, and support groups

The survey identified these employed women as being interested in dieting information (i.e., two-thirds were dieting to maintain or lose weight). The descriptions of life styles and family situations (e.g., family composition and number of hours employed) indicated a wide variation in family needs for nutrition information relating to food choices at special events and with everyday food patterns at home and eating out. These women perceived the largest number of supporting and negating dieting activities as coming from the family. Co-workers were checked about as often as the family for support activities but only about a third as often for negating activities. Associations for successful dieting imply that support occurs in both positive and negative forms. The results suggest that dieters with correct nutrition information may fail without either positive or negative support from the family and other influential groups.