Dieting in Spanish adolescent girls

BMC Public Health, 2013

Background: Data on the association between body self-perception and eating patterns among adolescents are scarce. This study assessed the association between body image and eating patterns among normal-weight, overweight and obese adolescents. Methods: A cross-sectional survey (n = 1231; 12-17 years old) was carried out in the Balearic Islands, Spain. Anthropometry, body image, socio-economic determinants, and food consumption were studied. Results: Fifty-one percent of boys and sixty percent of girls that wished to be thinner had less than or equal to 3 eating occasions per day. Overfat girls that wish to be thinner skipped breakfast more frequently than normal-fat girls. Overfat boys and girls that wished a thinner body reported lower consumption of several food groups than normal-fat adolescents and overfat boys satisfied with their own body image (i.e. breakfast cereals, pasta and rice dishes, other oils and fats, high fat foods, soft drinks and chocolates in boys; and dairy products and chocolates in girls).A restriction of Western diet foods and energy intake was associated with a wish to be thinner among overfat adolescents. Conclusions: Many overfat boys were satisfied with their body image while practically all overfat girls reported wishing a thinner body. Meal patterns and food consumption were associated with body dissatisfaction and overfat status among adolescents.

Acta Paediatrica, 2007

Anthropometry, body composition and body image were studied in 122 Swedish 8-16-y-old girls and their parents. The subjects participated in a 3-y prospective longitudinal study and were selected randomly after stratification for grades from those scoring in the upper vs. the lower thirds of the Children's Eating Attitudes Test (ChEAT) score distribution. The ChEAT was completed 6 mo before the present study together with a demographic and dieting questionnaire and a questionnaire for the estimation of body size. In total 43% (n = 52) admitted ever dieting ("Dieters") and 25% (n = 30) admitted that they were currently trying to lose weight. The anthropometric and body composition data indicated that ChEAT High-scorers and Dieters were somewhat fatter than Low-scorers and Non-dieters, although this pattern was not shown among the 8-y-olds or the 14-y-olds (High-scorers). The mothers of the ChEAT High-scorers were found to be somewhat fatter than the other mothers. A current vs. ideal body shape discrepancy was shown for both High-scorers and Dieters, with a larger discrepancy for the Dieters. All groups believed that their parents were aspiring for a leaner body.

Journal of Adolescent Health, 2001

Purpose: To study the prevalence of altered eating behaviors or eating disorder–related behaviors among adolescents of normal weight that do not fulfill criteria for anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.Method: Cross-sectional study by means of a self-completed questionnaire (School of Nutrition of Granada, Spain) and measurement of weight and height in a population of 491 schoolchildren aged 14–18 years. The statistical inferences and estimation of risk are based on comparison of proportions and means test, and the relative inequality of prevalences.Results: Of 491 adolescents of normal weight, 9% (females 2:1) were following diets; 42% presented “recurrent episodes of binging” with the sensation of loss of self-control; and 41%% avoided specific types of food. Overall, 46.2% presented altered eating behavior. Factors significantly associated with this were the occurrence of periods of food abstinence and the use of purgatives [confidence interval 95% (CI 95%) prevalence ratio (PR) 1.41–2.02]. Compensatory behaviors were present in 33% of the adolescents, predominantly in females (CI 95% PR 1.79–3.07). The prevalences of abnormal eating behaviors were 16.3% for those related to anorexia (A-RB) and 17.1% for those related to bulimia (B-RB), with a clear predominance of females (2:1) and public education. There seems to be a greater aesthetic concern among those with B-RB and more worry about weight among those with A-RB.Conclusions: A high proportion of adolescents with abnormal eating behaviors and an altered perception of body fat may currently be diagnosed as having atypical eating disorder“ (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Revision) considering that their body mass index was within normal range.

Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 2015

During high school girls are a group at risk for developing eating disorders. Eating problems that appear in this period can range from dissatisfaction with body image, in keeping non-pathological diet to clean eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia nervosa. While only 3-5% of all adolescent girls suffer from the eating disorders (Levine, 1987), most of them are on diet (Rossen & Gross, 1987). The purpose of this study was to achieve recognition of risk factors in the development of eating disorders and determining to what extent those factors contribute to forecast dieting among teenage girls 15-18 years. A correlation research design was utilized to address the research objectives. The method used for data collection is surveying. A total of 200 adolescent girls aged from 15 - 18 attending a Gymnasium and three vocational schools in the city of Podgorica participated in the study. Measuring instruments used to collect the research data in this research are: Rosenberg’s Self-Es...

Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 2003

Aims: Dieting is a behavioral phenomenon which is becoming more frequent among adolescents and the search for weight loss, through dieting, may result in an unbalanced nutrition both quantitatively and qualitatively. Our study intended to look at the eating habits and behavior on a cohort of adolescent girls to verify the presence of unbalanced diets and the prevalence of eating disorders with particular attention to the partial syndromes (EDNOS). Methods: A cross-sectional doublestage study was carried out on a group of schoolgirls in the suburbs of Naples. We assessed anthropometrical measures, body composition (skinfolds and bioimpedance analysis), dietary intake by means of 3-day food records and we administered the Eating Disorder Inventory 2 and Psychosocial Factor Risk Questionnaire. A multidisciplinary and double-stage approach had been used to get a better diagnosis of eating disorders in our sample. Results: 156 adolescent girls, 14-18 years old, took part in our study. Height, weight, and BMI were 160.38 cm, 58 kg and 22.6, respectively. Analysis of food intake showed that all the values reported, with the exception of lipids and sodium, were below the recommendations by LARN. We observed a prevalence of 1.28% of bulimia nervosa, 1.28% of binge eating, and 10.25% of eating disorders not otherwise specified. EDI 2 and PRFQ confirmed how important drive for thinness and body dissatisfaction dimensions are when we deal with adolescent girls and with the phenomenon of dieting. The study confirmed the validity of the PRFQ questionnaire to evaluate mass media influence on body perception and eating behavior of adolescents. Conclusion: Multidisciplinary and well-designed studies are needed to systematically and accurately study eating habits and behavior of adolescents to tackle more efficiently the increasing spread of eating disorders and obesity.

Türk psikiyatri dergisi = Turkish journal of psychiatry, 2004

Our main objective was to determine the relationship between body image, self-perception and body mass index in dieting adolescents and non-dieters. 531 high-school students 15-17 years old were selected randomly and evaluated by Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents, Body Image Satisfaction Questionnaire, (BISQ) Dieting Status Measure (DiSM) and ideal body weight. Multivariate variance analysis for the effect of gender, age and dieting status on SPPA and BISQ subscales and multiple regression analysis for determining the predictors of dieting were used. 33% of girls of normal weight reported that they were dieting. The percentage of dieters among female adolescents was significantly higher than that among male adolescents. While female adolescents were dieting for a thinner body ideal, boys were dieting for a thinner or fatter body ideal. In the dieting groups, lower body image satisfaction and self-worth were determined the physical appearance and general self-worth domains of t...

Body Image, 2007

This exploratory study represents a cross-cultural effort to examine differences in dieting practices and weight loss attempts, perceived body shape, and body satisfaction between young Argentinean and Swedish adolescents. The study group consisted of 358 Argentinean (193 girls, 165 boys) and 874 Swedish (474 girls, 400 boys) 13-year-olds. A main finding was that Argentinean and Swedish adolescents did not differ on body satisfaction, although girls in both countries displayed greater body dissatisfaction than did boys. Dieting and weight loss attempts were more prevalent among the Argentinean adolescents, especially among girls, and did not appear to depend on overweight or perception of body shape. The samples also differed in their perceptions of body shape and the effect those perceptions had on their body satisfaction, with Swedish adolescents suffering more from negative body shape perceptions. #

Eating Disorders, 2000

In this study, attitudes towards eating among adolescent school-girls were compared to those among fashion models and eating disorder patients. The results clearly demonstrate a preoccupation with body weight, even in school-girls. A majority of the girls indicated a wish to lose weight, even when the current Body Mass Index was between 20 and 25. Eating disorder patients more commonly reported premorbid overweight. Furthermore, fashion models tended to have an eating-style that was comparable to that of patients with eating disorders. The finding that the mean current body weight of all girls was lower than before suggests that many girls developed a restrained eating style. Vomiting, the use of anorectic drugs and laxatives, eating alone, and counting calories were reported by a substantial proportion of the adolescent girls. Moreover, a substantial proportion of the girls experienced a loss of control over eating. The combination of this eating-style and being overweight, can be considered as risk factor for the development of eating disorders.

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

From the point of view of prevention, it is convenient to explore the association between eating behavior and the obese phenotype during school and adolescent age. The aim of the present study was to identify eating behavior patterns associated with nutritional status in Spanish schoolchildren. A cross-sectional study of 283 boys and girls (aged 6 to 16 years) was carried out. The sample was evaluated anthropometrically by Body Mass Index (BMI), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and body fat percentage (%BF). Eating behavior was analyzed using the CEBQ “Children’s Eating Behavior Questionnaire”. The subscales of the CEBQ were significantly associated with BMI, WHtR and %BF. Pro-intake subscales (enjoyment of food, food responsiveness, emotional overeating, desire for drinks) were positively related to excess weight by BMI (β = 0.812 to 0.869; p = 0.002 to <0.001), abdominal obesity (β = 0.543–0.640; p = 0.02 to <0.009) and high adiposity (β = 0.508 to 0.595; p = 0.037 to 0.01). Ant...

Acta Scientiarum. Health Sciences, 2013

The study investigated the relationship between body image dissatisfaction, nutritional status, and eating attitudes in adolescents from a small town of the interior of São Paulo State. A total of 278 adolescents (106 boys and 172 girls) aged between 15 and 18 years had completed measures of body image dissatisfaction through the Figure Rating Scale and eating attitudes by the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) and had their weight and height measured. Girls related more dissatisfaction and abnormal eating behavior than boys and, in both genders the abnormal eating attitudes tend to increase with increasing dissatisfaction. Moreover, dissatisfaction was higher between those individuals classified as overweight and obesity. These results demonstrated that body image dissatisfaction and inappropriate eating behaviors afflict boys and girls even from small cities in developing countries, highlighting the need to undertake epidemiological studies to early recognition of populations at risk ...