title: Body image perceptions and dieting among African-American pre-adolescent girls and parents/caregivers.
abstract: This study describes body image and weight concern attitudes of pre-adolescent African-American (AA) girls and their parent/caregivers. Cross-sectional survey data were collected from 189 low-income 8- to 10-year-old AA girls and 179 parents/caregivers of AA girls from 2 urban areas, Memphis and Minneapolis/St. Paul. Results demonstrated that most AA girls were either happy with their weight, or did not think about it at all. However, 20% of girls would like to be larger than their current size, and 50% would like to be smaller. Girls in Minneapolis/St. Paul were more likely than Memphis girls to report weight dissatisfaction. One third of parents reported concerns that their daughters were too heavy. Seventy-two percent of parents reported that they were trying to lose weight. Discussions include possible regional differences in weight concern among AA girls, and implications for obesity prevention programs.
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55454, USA. sherwood@epi.umn.edu
authors.forename: Nancy E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Sherwood
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Story
authors.forename: Bettina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Beech
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Klesges
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mellin
authors.forename: Dianne
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Neumark-Sztainer
authors.forename: Marsha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Davis
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D001828:Body Image; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology*; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D012649:Self Concept