Standardized Percentile Curves of Body-Mass Index for Children and Adolescents

Naturalistic weight-reduction efforts prospectively predict growth in relative weight and onset of obesity among female adolescents.

“…Sixteen percent of the participants reported being currently on a diet, 75% endorsed at least minimal exercise for weight-control purposes, 33% engaged in incidental exercise, 20% reported at least some fasting, 12% endorsed at least some use of appetite suppressants and/or laxatives, 3% reported vomiting, and 4% engaged in binge eating. Consistent with national data (Hammer, Kraemer, Wilson, Ritter, & Dornbusch, 1991), the average BMI score increased over time (21.9, 22.2, 22.5, and 22.9 for Times 1–4, respectively). Similarly, the rates of obesity increased over the study period (16%, 18%, 20%, and 21% for Times 1–4, respectively).…”

Psychological correlates of dieting in Swedish adolescents: a cross-sectional study

“…Dieters estimated their current shape to be signi®cantly larger and their ideal shape to be signi®cantly smaller than non-dieters. These data replicate results from earlier studies (Edlund et al, 1996;Hill et al, 1992). Dieters also showed a signi®cantly higher mean BMI than non-dieters.…”

Cigarette smoking prospectively predicts retarded physical growth among female adolescents

“…These findings are consonant with the evidence from the adult literature indicating that smoking cessation is consistently associated with weight gain [16]. However, it is important to remember that the participants in the current study were still undergoing physical development [2]. The finding that gains in weight and BMI observed in the smoking cessation group were less than those observed in the persistent nonsmoking group seems to provide further evidence that smoking leads to retardation of physical growth, as opposed to an unhealthy increase in adiposity.…”