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Weight-related attitudes and behaviors of adolescent boys and girls who are encouraged to diet by their mothers.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Fulkerson, JA; McGuire, MT; Neumark-Sztainer, D; Story, M; French, SA; Perry, CL
Published in: Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord
December 2002

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationships between mothers' reports of dieting and encouraging adolescents to diet and adolescents' reports of their own dieting practices and weight-related concerns. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of parent interviews and adolescent surveys in an ethnically-diverse sample. SUBJECTS: A total of 810 adolescents (n=381 boys and n=429 girls) and their mothers. RESULTS: Mothers' dieting was associated with their adolescent girls' weight-related concerns and behaviors, but these associations were not significant after adjusting for girls' body mass index (BMI). In contrast, mothers' encouragement for sons to diet was associated with sons' binge eating, dieting and other weight-control behaviors, even after controlling for sons' BMI. Compared with mothers who did not encourage their child to diet, mothers who encouraged their child to diet were significantly heavier women and were more likely to view their child as overweight. Forty-three percent of boys and 46% of girls who were encouraged by their mothers to diet were classified as nonoverweight by federal guidelines. CONCLUSIONS: Boys who are encouraged by their mothers to diet may be at risk for health-compromising eating and dieting behaviors, particularly binge-eating, fasting, eating a little bit of food and skipping meals. Parents who are concerned about their children's weight should be educated to encourage healthy eating habits and physical activity to promote their children's health, including healthy weight control.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord

DOI

Publication Date

December 2002

Volume

26

Issue

12

Start / End Page

1579 / 1587

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Sex Factors
  • Obesity
  • Mother-Child Relations
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Feeding Behavior
  • Endocrinology & Metabolism
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Body Weight
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
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Fulkerson, J. A., McGuire, M. T., Neumark-Sztainer, D., Story, M., French, S. A., & Perry, C. L. (2002). Weight-related attitudes and behaviors of adolescent boys and girls who are encouraged to diet by their mothers. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord, 26(12), 1579–1587. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802157
Fulkerson, J. A., M. T. McGuire, D. Neumark-Sztainer, M. Story, S. A. French, and C. L. Perry. “Weight-related attitudes and behaviors of adolescent boys and girls who are encouraged to diet by their mothers.Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 26, no. 12 (December 2002): 1579–87. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802157.
Fulkerson JA, McGuire MT, Neumark-Sztainer D, Story M, French SA, Perry CL. Weight-related attitudes and behaviors of adolescent boys and girls who are encouraged to diet by their mothers. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2002 Dec;26(12):1579–87.
Fulkerson, J. A., et al. “Weight-related attitudes and behaviors of adolescent boys and girls who are encouraged to diet by their mothers.Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord, vol. 26, no. 12, Dec. 2002, pp. 1579–87. Pubmed, doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0802157.
Fulkerson JA, McGuire MT, Neumark-Sztainer D, Story M, French SA, Perry CL. Weight-related attitudes and behaviors of adolescent boys and girls who are encouraged to diet by their mothers. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2002 Dec;26(12):1579–1587.

Published In

Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord

DOI

Publication Date

December 2002

Volume

26

Issue

12

Start / End Page

1579 / 1587

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Sex Factors
  • Obesity
  • Mother-Child Relations
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Feeding Behavior
  • Endocrinology & Metabolism
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Body Weight