Objective: Despite investigations into the rapid increase in eating disorders across diverse ethnic groups, conclusions concerning ethnicity and eating disorders are contradictory. The objective of the present study was to investigate eating attitudes in ethnic Japanese and Caucasian adolescents in Brazil. The influence of body mass index (BMI), menarche and social-affective relationships on the development of eating disorders was also assessed. Methods:Questionnaires evaluating the incidence of eating disorders and the influence of social-affective relationships were applied to 544 Japanese-Brazilian and Caucasian adolescent girls: 10 to 11-year-old Japanese-Brazilian (n = 122) and Caucasian (n = 176) pre-menarcheal adolescents, and 16 to 17-year-old Japanese-Brazilian (n = 71) and Caucasian (n = 175) post-menarcheal adolescents. Results: Caucasian girls obtained higher scores on the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), showed greater body imagedissatisfaction, dieted more often and had more diet models introduced by their mothers and peers than the Japanese-Brazilian girls. Conclusion:The Caucasian adolescents overall appeared to be more sensitive to aesthetic and social pressures regarding body image than the Japanese adolescents. The high incidence of EAT-26 scores above 20 in the Caucasian pre-menarcheal group indicates that individual body image concerns are developing at an earlier age. Multiple logistic regression revealed several associations between mother-teen interactions and the development of abnormal eating attitudes.J Pediatr (Rio J). 2009;85(2):122-128: Japanese-Americans, eating disorders, body image, body mass index, adolescence.

Different results of weight and height between the ethnic groups may bring back the discussion concerning separate growth curves for different ethnic groups. The results of the body composition analysis indicated high adiposity levels among postmenarcheal adolescents.

Height and weight differences between the ethnic groups indicated distinct genetic potential ranges. The body fat mass did not differ between the ethnic groups, but the degree of changes when attaining maturation in the Caucasian subjects was greater. If this difference were to be maintained between the groups then years later there would be a greater accumulation of fat in the Japanese subjects.

Despite the proximity between indigenous groups in the Upper

In large samples, the methods for obtaining information on obesity need to be simple, inexpensive and reasonably accurate. This review deals with articles focusing on various field methods for the evaluation of body composition. The Bioimpedance and Near Infrared methods are simple to execute but their advantage in relation to Body Mass Index is obscure. Although the Bioimpedance and near infrared methods provide estimates of fat content, they may be no better than waist circumference measurements. The latter does not distinguish body fat but points to a more direct relationship concerning health risk. Regardless of the advantages, waist circumference continues to be under discussion: there is a lack of standardization and no reference populations or cutoff points have been established. No perfect method exists, but the number of errors could be reduced, if care were taken in drawing up protocols, standardization, and the analysis of sample properties.