Growing consciousness about ideal body image leads to dietary modifications and consequent eating disorders among girls in developing countries like India. The present study aims to (i) assess the prevalence of body weight consciousness and related behaviours among a group of adolescent girls; (ii) assess the sociodemographic correlates of weight related behaviours; and (iii) compare weight related behaviours of the girls of two religious groups residing in Howrah. The study is the outcome of a cross-sectional school based survey involving 280 (159 Hindu and 121 Muslim) girls from standards 8 to 11. Significant differences exist between two religious groups with respect to their family size, socioeconomic profile, and media exposures (in terms of watching television). Consciousness about body weight among girls shows significant difference with respect to religion, family size ( ), father’s occupation ( ), level of education of both the parents, and media exposure ( ). Consciousness about body weight drives them to adopt several behavioural measures like calorie restriction, food avoidance, and dieting. Sociodemographic correlates of all these behaviours have been analyzed. The study documents that concern over body image and weight loss is quite important among these urban girls. 1. Introduction Consciousness over body image and losing weight has become very common among adolescent girls. Modernized societies prefer thinness and socially discriminate against obese individuals. Incidence of obesity is also on the rise as a result of excessive consumption of processed foods, high fat diets, and less exercise [1, 2]. Dietary pattern of a population group is generally governed by its socioeconomic and cultural characteristics along with their exposure to outside world [3]. Weight related conditions like disordered eating behaviours adversely affect the growth process, psychosocial development, and physical health of young people [4]. Thus, unhealthy eating habits among adolescents pose serious public health concerns [5]. Dissatisfaction over body image followed by unhealthy eating habits and attitudes may be a risk factor for the development of eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa [6]. Both these disorders are common among adolescents, who often remain confused regarding what constitutes overweight, normal weight, and underweight. Body image dissatisfaction and a desire to be thinner are two most important motivating factors for dieting among majority of teenagers [7]. Driven by the feeling of dissatisfaction over body image,
References
[1]
D. Neumark-Sztainer, M. E. Eisenberg, J. A. Fulkerson, M. Story, and N. I. Larson, “Family meals and disordered eating in adolescents,” Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, vol. 162, no. 1, pp. 17–22, 2008.
[2]
S. K. Mishra and S. Mukhopadhyay, “Eating and weight concerns among Sikkimese adolescent girls and their biocultural correlates: an exploratory study,” Public Health Nutrition, vol. 14, no. 5, pp. 853–859, 2011.
[3]
A. K. Kant, “Dietary patterns and health outcomes,” Journal of the American Dietetic Association, vol. 104, no. 4, pp. 615–635, 2004.
[4]
L. K. Bachrach, D. Guido, D. Katzman, I. F. Litt, and R. Marcus, “Decreased bone density in adolescent girls with anorexia nervosa,” Pediatrics, vol. 86, no. 3, pp. 440–447, 1990.
[5]
Position Paper for the Society for Adolescent Medicine, “Eating disorders in adolescents,” Journal of Adolescent Health, vol. 33, pp. 496–503, 2003.
[6]
S. A. French and R. W. Jeffery, “Consequences of dieting to lose weight: effects on physical and mental health,” Health Psychology, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 195–212, 1994.
[7]
E. H. Wertheim, S. J. Paxton, H. K. Schutz, and S. L. Muir, “Why do adolescent girls watch their weight? An interview study examining sociocultural pressures to be thin,” Journal of Psychosomatic Research, vol. 42, no. 4, pp. 345–355, 1997.
[8]
E. A. Schur, M. Sanders, and H. Steiner, “Body dissatisfaction and dieting in young children,” International Journal of Eating Disorders, vol. 27, pp. 74–82, 2000.
[9]
D. Neumark-Sztainer, R. W. Jeffery, and S. A. French, “Self-reported dieting: how should we ask? What does it mean? Associations between dieting and reported energy intake,” International Journal of Eating Disorders, vol. 22, pp. 437–449, 1997.
[10]
M. Story, K. Rosenwinkel, J. H. Himes, M. Resnick, L. J. Harris, and R. W. Blum, “Demographic and risk factors associated with chronic dieting in adolescents,” The American Journal of Diseases of Children, vol. 145, no. 9, pp. 994–998, 1991.
[11]
M. Grigg, J. Bowman, and S. Redman, “Disordered eating and unhealthy weight reduction practices among adolescent females,” Preventive Medicine, vol. 25, no. 6, pp. 748–756, 1996.
[12]
J. Croll, D. Neumark-Sztainer, M. Story, and M. Ireland, “Prevalence and risk and protective factors related to disordered eating behaviors among adolescents: relationship to gender and ethnicity,” Journal of Adolescent Health, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 166–175, 2002.
[13]
D. Neumark-Sztainer, M. Story, N. H. Falkner, T. Beuhring, and M. D. Resnick, “Sociodemographic and personal characteristics of adolescents engaged in weight loss and weight/muscle gain behaviors: who is doing what?” Preventive Medicine, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 40–50, 1999.
[14]
R. Chugh and S. Puri, “Affluent adolescent girls of Delhi: eating and weight concerns,” British Journal of Nutrition, vol. 86, no. 4, pp. 535–542, 2001.
[15]
B. Sadana, M. Khanna, and S. K. Mann, “Consumption patterns of fast foods among teenagers,” Applied Nutrition, vol. 22, pp. 14–17, 1997.
[16]
A. E. Field, S. B. Austin, R. Striegel-Moore et al., “Weight concerns and weight control behaviors of adolescents and their mothers,” Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, vol. 159, no. 12, pp. 1121–1126, 2005.
[17]
R. C. Plotnikoff, K. Bercovitz, R. E. Rhodes, C. A. Loucaides, and N. Karunamuni, “Testing a conceptual model related to weight perceptions, physical activity and smoking in adolescents,” Health Education Research, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 192–202, 2007.
[18]
Census of India, Provisional Population Total of Howrah District, Census of India, New Delhi, India, 2001.
[19]
West Bengal Madrasah Board, http://www.wbbme.org/.
[20]
D. M. Garner and P. E. Garfinkel, “The eating attitudes test: an index of the symptoms of anorexia nervosa,” Psychological Medicine, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 647–656, 1979.
[21]
G. Rodríguez and L. A. Moreno, “Is dietary intake able to explain differences in body fatness in children and adolescents?” Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 294–301, 2006.
[22]
T. Y. Mousa, H. A. Al-Domi, R. H. Mashal, and M. A. Jibril, “Eating disturbances among adolescent schoolgirls in Jordan,” Appetite, vol. 54, no. 1, pp. 196–201, 2010.
[23]
M. Marchi and P. Cohen, “Early childhood eating behaviors and adolescent eating disorders,” Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 112–117, 1990.
[24]
S. G. Gowers and A. Shore, “Development of weight and shape concerns in the aetiology of eating disorders,” British Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 179, pp. 236–242, 2001.
