Weight‐Related Attitudes and Behaviors in Fourth Grade American Indian Children

Abstract

. Obes Res. 1999;7:34-42. Objective: American Indian children have a high prevalence of obesity, yet little is known about weight-related attitudes and the prevalence of dieting in this population. This study assessed weight concerns, body size perceptions, weight reduction attempts, and weight loss methods in fourth grade American Indian children. Research Methods and Procedures:attended one of eight schools in the Pathways Feasibility Study. Question and answer choices were read to children by trained staff, and children marked their own answers.Results: Thirty-eight percent of the children reported that they had tried to lose weight. The most common strategy for weight reduction was exercising more. Girls were more likely than boys to be dissatisfied with their body size (48% of girls vs. 34% of boys desired a slimmer body size; 22% of girls vs. 15% of boys desired a larger body size; p<O.OO I). Children who had tried to lose weight were more likely to indicate that the size they most desired and the most healthy size were smaller than their perceived size (p<0.001). Children who reported trying to lose weight were also more likely to want to be skinnier and to be unhappy about their weight than were children who did not report trying to lose weight (p<0.00 I for both).

Ethnic differences in BMI, weight concerns, and eating behaviors: Comparison of Native American, White, and Hispanic adolescents

“…Within female groups we found ethnic group differences similar to those reported previously by others (e.g., Caradas et al, 2001;Stevens et al, 1999;Yates et al, 2004). Thus, it appears that although they are thinner than other female groups in this study, White females are less likely to want to be larger, are equally or more dissatisfied with their current body size, and are equally likely to be engaging in risky weight control behaviors than their non-White peers.…”

“…The fact that a strong binge-purge association was not found for Native American girls, may suggest that Native girls are less likely to develop bulimic symptoms. However this is merely speculation at present, since no studies of prevalence rates for clinical eating disorders among Native Americans are currently available.Within female groups we found ethnic group differences similar to those reported previously by others (e.g., Caradas et al, 2001;Stevens et al, 1999;Yates et al, 2004). Thus, it appears that although they are thinner than other female groups in this study, White females are less likely to want to be larger, are equally or more dissatisfied with their current body size, and are equally likely to be engaging in risky weight control behaviors than their non-White peers.…”

“…The association of BMI with ED risk may be particularly relevant for the present study given the serious obesity problem among Native Americans of both sexes and all ages (Broussard et al, 1991) and the fact that obesity prevalence in Native communities has increased rapidly in the past half century to near-epidemic proportions . Consistent with this idea, Stevens et al (1999) noted that "…a risk factor for weight dissatisfaction, dieting, and unhealthy weight control practices among American Indian adolescents is being or feeling overweight" (p. 35). The association between BMI and body dissatisfaction appears to be a common finding across ethnic groups, although the strength of this association may vary substantially from one ethnic group to another (Yates, Edman, & Aruguete, 2004).…”

Prevalence of and factors associated with obesity among Pakistani schoolchildren: a school-based, cross-sectional study

“…We also showed that children trying to lose weight were 7.75 times more likely to be obese. Other studies have shown that obese children are more aware of their weight status and a high proportion of them wanted or attempted to lose weight [23,24].…”

Overweight in Latino Preschoolers: Do Parental Health Beliefs Matter

“…Parental self-efficacy about childhood obesity was measured by the following question: “How much control do parents have over how much their child weighs?” with Likert-type response options of “a lot,” “a little,” “none,” and “don’t know.” Line drawings of boys and girls were adapted from a previous instrument32 and used to further elucidate parental health beliefs. As shown in Figure 2, the 6 line drawings depict children whose appearance range from relatively thin (C) to markedly obese (H).…”