Disordered Eating and the Use of Unhealthy Weight Control Methods in College Students: 1995, 2002, and 2008

Many athletes engage in unhealthy weight-control practices. This new policy statement urges pediatricians to attempt to identify and help these athletes and provides information about how to support sound nutritional behavior. Athletes may engage in unhealthy weight-control practices, particularly in sports in which thinness or "making weight" is judged important to success, such as body building, cheerleading, dancing (especially ballet), distance running, diving, figure skating, gymnastics, horse racing, rowing, swimming, weight-class football, and wrestling.1-3 Some athletes may use extreme weight-loss practices that include overexercising; prolonged fasting; vomiting; using laxatives, diuretics, diet pills, other licit or illicit drugs, and/or nicotine; and use of rubber suits, steam baths, and/or saunas. The majority of these disordered eating behaviors do not meet Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed, criteria4 for anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. In two surveys of 208 female collegiate athletes, 32% and 62% practiced at least one of the following unhealthy weight-control behaviors: self-induced vomiting, binge eating more than twice weekly, and using laxatives, diet pills, and/or diuretics.5,6 Of 713 high school wrestlers in Wisconsin, 257 (36%) demonstrated two or more behaviors related to bulimia nervosa.7 In a survey of 171 collegiate Indiana wrestlers concerning their behaviors in high school, 82% had fasted for more than 24 hours, 16% had used diuretics, and 9.4% had induced vomiting at least once a week.8 Many athletes are secretive about these potentially harmful practices. Disordered eating may have a negative short-term impact on athletic performance. Athletes who lose weight rapidly by dehydration are probably impairing their athletic performance, especially if it involves strength or endurance,9 and these strength deficits may persist even after rehydration.10

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Unhealthy weight control behaviors, disordered eating, and body image dissatisfaction in adolescents from São Paulo, Brazil

Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1590/1516-4446-2019-0437 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 42 (3) ◽

pp. 264-270 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Greisse V. da S. Leal ◽

Sonia T. Philippi ◽

Marle dos S. Alvarenga

Keyword(s):

Body Image ◽

Disordered Eating ◽

Weight Control ◽

Body Image Dissatisfaction ◽

Sao Paulo ◽

São Paulo ◽

Weight Control Behaviors ◽

Unhealthy Weight Control Behaviors ◽

Unhealthy Weight Control ◽

Unhealthy Weight

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Associations of Exposure to Weight Talk, Unhealthy Weight Control and Overeating in Early Teens (FS10-07-19)

Current Developments in Nutrition ◽

10.1093/cdn/nzz039.fs10-07-19 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

Author(s):

Hannah Cory ◽

Josiemer Mattei

Keyword(s):

Disordered Eating ◽

Weight Control ◽

High Weight ◽

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Low Weight ◽

Same Gender ◽

Unhealthy Weight Control ◽

Unhealthy Weight ◽

Opposite Gender

Abstract Objectives Examine the association between exposure to weight talk from same and opposite gender peers and overeating and unhealthy weight control (UWC) amongst racially/ethnically-diverse youth aged 11–16 using cross-sectional, observational data. Hypothesis 1: Increased exposure to weight talk from same and opposite gender peers will be associated with both overeating and UWC behaviors with variation in magnitude of relationship based on social source. Methods In Project Viva, 1023 early teens (ages 11–16) reported experiences of weight talk from multiple social sources (parents, siblings, same & different gender peers and teachers/coaches). The main exposure was weight talk, functioning as a proxy for a weight-centric environment, coded as low weight talk or high weight talk. At the same timepoint teens reported disordered eating (overeating and UWC behaviors). Ordinal logistic regression assessed the associations of weight talk with both disordered eating behaviors, controlling for known confounders. Results Preliminary results show that the odds of those exposed to high weight talk from peers of the same gender engaging in overeating or UWC behavior was 1.32 and 1.89 (95% CI,1.22 to 1.43; 95% CI, 1.06 to 3.37) times that of those exposed to low weight talk, both statistically significant effects, P < 0.001, P = 0.031. The odds of those exposed to high weight talk from opposite gender peers engaging in overeating was 2.43 (95% CI, 1.14 to 5.22) times that of those exposed to low weight talk, a statistically significant effect, P = 0.115. The odds of those exposed to high weight talk from opposite gender peers engaging in UWC behaviors was 1.69 (95% CI, 0.88 to 3.25) times that of those exposed to low weight talk, a non-statistically significant effect, P = 0.115. Conclusions High weight talk from peers of the same gender is significantly associated with higher odds of both overeating UWC behaviors in early teens. However, high weight talk from peers of the opposite gender is only significantly associated with higher odds of overeating. Funding Sources HC was supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Research Scholars Award. JM was supported by a NIH-NHLBI Mentored Career Development Award to Promote Faculty Diversity in Biomedical Research. Supporting Tables, Images and/or Graphs

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Household food insecurity: associations with disordered eating behaviours and overweight in a population-based sample of adolescents

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980020000464 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 23 (17) ◽

pp. 3126-3135 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Laura Hooper ◽

Susan Telke ◽

Nicole Larson ◽

Susan M Mason ◽

Dianne Neumark-Sztainer

Keyword(s):

Food Insecurity ◽

Disordered Eating ◽

Weight Control ◽

Weight Status ◽

Population Based ◽

Household Food Insecurity ◽

Eating Behaviours ◽

Household Food ◽

Unhealthy Weight Control ◽

Unhealthy Weight

AbstractObjective:To examine how household food insecurity is related to adolescent weight status and disordered eating.Design:Cross-sectional, population-based study. Adolescents self-reported unhealthy weight control behaviours, binge eating and meal frequency; weight status was measured. Household food insecurity was assessed by asking parents to respond to the validated six-item US Household Food Security Survey Module.Setting:Adolescents surveyed within Minneapolis/St. Paul public middle and high schools completed surveys at school, and their parents/guardians were surveyed by mail during the 2009–2010 academic year.Participants:Ethnically/racially diverse, primarily low-income adolescents (mean age: 14·4 years, range: 10–22 years) and their parents/guardians (n 2285 dyads).Results:More than one-third (38·9 %) of the adolescents experienced past-year household food insecurity, 43·2 % reported disordered eating and 39·6 % were overweight. Generalised regression models showed that food insecure (FI) compared with food secure (FS) adolescents had higher prevalence of overweight (FI: 42·3 % v. FS: 37·9 %, P = 0·039), lower breakfast consumption (FI: 4·1 times/week v. FS: 4·4 times/week, P = 0·005) and greater use of unhealthy weight control behaviours (FI: 49·0 % v. FS: 39·5 %, P < 0·001) in unadjusted models. Models adjusted for parental education, ethnicity/race, sex and age found that food insecurity was associated with higher prevalence of unhealthy weight control behaviours (FI: 44·5 % v. FS: 37·8 %, P = 0·007), but not with weight status or other eating behaviours.Conclusions:These results suggest that food insecurity may be an independent risk factor for unhealthy weight control behaviours, indicating a need to approach these intersecting issues in a comprehensive manner.

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Dating Violence Against Adolescent Girls and Associated Substance Use, Unhealthy Weight Control, Sexual Risk Behavior, Pregnancy, and Suicidality

JAMA ◽

10.1001/jama.286.5.572 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 286 (5) ◽

pp. 572 ◽

Cited By ~ 700

Author(s):

Jay G. Silverman

Keyword(s):

Substance Use ◽

Risk Behavior ◽

Sexual Risk ◽

Dating Violence ◽

Adolescent Girls ◽

Sexual Risk Behavior ◽

Weight Control ◽

Unhealthy Weight Control ◽

Unhealthy Weight

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Direct and the Indirect Determinants of Weight-Control Behaviours among Adolescents

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckz186.134 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽

Author(s):

A Tur-Sinai ◽

T Kolobov ◽

R Tesler ◽

O Baron-Epel ◽

K Dvir ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Family Communication ◽

Weight Control ◽

Family Meals ◽

Healthy Weight ◽

Family Wealth ◽

Weight Control Behaviour ◽

Employed Parents ◽

Unhealthy Weight Control ◽

Unhealthy Weight ◽

Control Behaviour

Abstract Background Economic determinants such as socioeconomic inequalities and parents’ employment have a profound impact on the health of adolescents in terms of unhealthy weight-control behaviours (UWCB). In addition, various family factors may play a role in adolescents’ weight-control behaviours (WCB). This study examines the association among socioeconomic status, perceived family wealth, and number of employed parents and Israeli adolescents’ WCB and asks whether family variables (parental communication, monitoring, support, and family meals) mediate WCB. Methods Data from the cross-sectional questionnaire of the 2014 Israeli Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children study are analysed using structural equation modelling. The research population includes approximately 7,000 Israeli schoolchildren in grades 6, 8, and 10. The association among socioeconomic status (SES) factors (SES measures, parental employment), sociodemographic factors, and weight-control behaviours among adolescents is calculated. Results High family affluence and high perceived family wealth are negatively associated with unhealthy weight-control behaviour. Having two employed parents leads to lower levels of UWCB. Family-related variables like family communication and support and parental monitoring are found to mitigate unhealthy weight-control behaviours. Family meals have a significantly positive effect on healthy weight-control behaviour and a significantly negative impact on unhealthy weight-control activities. Conclusions The findings suggest that economic factors such as SES and number of employed parents are necessary strategies for long-term weight-control practice. The combination of WCB and family meals is the most effective method for adolescents’ healthy weight-control behaviour. Key messages The study highlights the importance of considering the quality of family communication and support as a health asset that may contribute to WCB among young people. Family affluence and perceived family wealth, which were two separate measurements, were perceived differently by adolescents.

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