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Problem dieting behaviors among young adolescents
D P Krowchuk1, S R Kreiter, C R Woods
1Department of Pediatrics, Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Brenner Children's Hospital of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA. krowchuk@wfubmc.edu
Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
|September 22, 1998
Summary
Younger adolescents engage in unhealthy weight loss behaviors like vomiting or laxative use. These practices are linked to feeling overweight and other risk factors, potentially indicating eating disorders.
Area of Science:
- Adolescent health
- Behavioral science
- Public health
Background:
- Weight management behaviors in adolescents are a growing concern.
- Understanding these behaviors is crucial for early intervention and prevention of health issues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate weight loss behaviors, including dieting, exercise, diet pill use, and purging (vomiting or laxative use), among young adolescents.
- To identify factors associated with these behaviors in middle school students.
Main Methods:
- Data collected from a modified Youth Risk Behavior Survey in 1995.
- Survey administered to 2,331 sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade students in North Carolina middle schools.
- Analysis focused on self-reported weight control practices.
Main Results:
- 9.7% of girls and 4.0% of boys reported using vomiting or laxatives for weight loss.
- In girls, these behaviors were associated with feeling overweight, other weight loss practices, older age, poor academic performance, smoking, and specific dietary habits.
- In boys, associations included feeling overweight, other weight loss practices, minority racial status, smoking, and high-fat food consumption.
Conclusions:
- Younger adolescents employ diverse and potentially harmful weight loss strategies.
- These behaviors may compromise health and are potentially linked to the development of eating disorders.
- Early identification and intervention for problematic weight control behaviors are essential.