Extreme Dieting Behaviors in Early Adolescence

Abstract

A slide show with audio taped narration of two case stories involving eating disorders was presented to 4th-, 5th- and 6th-grade school children. Students completed a series of questions about their eating behaviors and compared their eating to that of the case subjects, who served as frames of reference for such constructs as "binging. " Between 3% and 4% of girls reported self-induced vomiting and/or secretly throwing away food to avoid gaining weight. The case story method seems to provide a means for students to qualitatively assess their eating behavior relative to an external frame of reference. Teachers and other professionals working with early adolescents should be aware that dieting behaviors are clearly emerging in elementary school. The methodology used in the present study has utility not only for screening persons who may be at risk for eating disorders, but also for psycho educational programs in health and nutrition.

Disordered eating among a multi-racial/ethnic sample of female high-school athletes

“…Bonferroni tests were employed for post-hoc pair-wise comparisons among the three ethnic groups. 2 analyses were also used to determine differences in prevalence estimates of DE and pathogenic behaviors among the three groups. SPSS (version 11.5, SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL) was used for all data analyses.…”

“…With more girls being coached and trained at a very young age, and due perhaps to excessive pressure exerted by coaches and parents, female athletes are becoming more susceptible at a younger age to extreme weight control practices to enhance performance [1]. Eating disorders and subclinical disordered eating (DE) attitudes and behaviors have been reported in girls as young as 6 years [2].Although the prevalence of clinical eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, is low in both athletes and non-athletes [1], prevalence estimates of subclinical DE attitudes and behaviors have been reported …”

“…With more girls being coached and trained at a very young age, and due perhaps to excessive pressure exerted by coaches and parents, female athletes are becoming more susceptible at a younger age to extreme weight control practices to enhance performance [1]. Eating disorders and subclinical disordered eating (DE) attitudes and behaviors have been reported in girls as young as 6 years [2].…”

The positive influence of maternal identification on body image, eating attitudes, and self‐esteem of Hispanic and Anglo girls

“…Relatedly, one study with elementary school girls discovered that 30% of them dieted (Thelen, Powell, Lawrence, & Kuhnert, 1992). Another study found that 4% were inducing vomiting and secretly discarding food to avoid weight gain (Stein & Reichert, 1990). An associated concern is that girls who feel less satisfied with their bodies display poorer overall self-esteem than girls with greater body satisfaction (Folk, Pedersen, & Cullari, 1993).…”

Reducing the Impact of Media Images on Women At Risk For Body Image Disturbance: Three Targeted Interventions

“…The media in particular, with its emphasis on thinness as the ideal standard of female attractiveness, has been singled out as the most potent messenger of sociocultural pressures (Evans, Gilpin, Farkas, Shenassa & Pierce, 1995;Irving, 1990;Jacobi & Cash, 1994;Polivy & Herman, 1985;Silverstein, Perdue, Peterson & Kelly, 1986;Stein & Reichert, 1990;Stice, Schupak-Neuberg, Shaw & Stein, 1994; Striegel-Moore, Silberstein & Rodin, 1986;Wooley & Wooley, 1984). Recent research has confirmed the popular notion that exposure to media images of female attractiveness increases women's body image disturbance (Heinberg & Thompson, 1995;Posavac, Posavac & Posavac, 1998;Richins, 1991;.…”