title: Gender differences in adolescent weight and shape-related beliefs and behaviour.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the beliefs, attitudes and behaviours of North Queensland adolescents about weight, weight loss and body shape, and to examine the influence of gender.
  
  
  METHODS
  A questionnaire was used to survey 791 year 8 adolescents from private schools in north Queensland.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Only 41% of the girls and 54% of the boys were satisfied with their weight; 52% of the girls and 27% of the boys wanted to lose weight; 52% of the girls thought their thighs were too fat and 26% of the boys thought their stomachs were too fat. When surveyed, 35% of the girls and 22% of the boys were trying to lose weight.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The weight loss drive, so prevalent in our culture, is already apparent among 12-14 year old schoolchildren. The challenge is to prevent obesity without encouraging an accompanying obsession with weight loss; however, good information, appropriately delivered, may be insufficient without a change in cultural expectations and assistance from the fashion and advertising industries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, James Cook University of North Queensland, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nowak
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Speare
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Crawford
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D053198:Child Nutrition Sciences / Q000193:education; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D011793:Queensland; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires