Dieting and desire for weight loss among adolescents in Denmark: a questionnaire survey

Abstract

Objective: To report on the first study in Denmark of the prevalence of dieting and other weight-loss behaviours among adolescents. Method: A cross-sectional study of 2094 pupils from grade 8-12, aged 14-21 years, throughout Denmark. The pupils responded to a self-administered 49-item questionnaire, which was constructed by an Expert Committee in the Danish National Board of Health. Results: The prevalence of dieting and other weight-loss behaviours were comparable to results from other countries, particularly from the Nordic countries. Dieting was dependent on BMI and sex and did not increase with age. However, the desire for weight loss increased with age for both sexes and body dissatisfaction became more extreme with age. Many boys desired a weight gain instead of a weight loss. Discussion: Dieting and other weight control behaviours increased with increasing BMI. However, most dieting and wish for weight loss was not justified by obesity but seemed to depend on a perception of being overweight. The need for identifying adolescents with at-risk behaviour related to eating disorders is emphasized.

Binge eating and purging in a multi‐ethnic community sample

“…Similarly, the use of laxatives, diet pills, and diuretics was far less common among Asian women than among women in the three other ethnic groups. Insofar as weight control behavior is correlated with being overweight, 13 it is possible that the different rates of purging behavior observed among the ethnic subgroups of women in our sample reflect actual differences in their current body weight. To explore this possibility, we conducted a post hoc analysis of the personal history data provided by our female participants.…”

Refining the relationships of perfectionism, self‐efficacy, and stress to dieting and binge eating: Examining the appearance, interpersonal, and academic domains

“…b All analyses were also conducted with BMI as a covariate in the first step to control for the potential influence of BMI seen in other work on dieting 44 and binge eating. 45 In addition, for each outcome variable, analyses were conducted including the other eating behavior measure as a covariate (e.g., when dieting was being predicted, binge eating was included as a covariate) to control for the potential influence of these behaviors on each other.…”

Validation of a screening instrument for identifying risk behaviour related to eating disorders

“…Furthermore, qualitative semistructured interviews were made with seven high school girls, testing a semi-structured interview-manual, risk behaviour classifications and the procedure for diagnosing individuals. For detailed information about the development of the 49-item questionnaire, see Waaddegaard and Petersen (2002).…”