Socioeconomic variation in attitudes to eating and weight in female adolescents.
This study was stimulated by J. Sobal and A. J. Stunkard's (1989) theory that differences in deliberate weight control could underlie the socioeconomic gradient in adult weight. Female adolescents (N=1,248) completed measures of socioeconomic status, social norms for weight, weight ideals, attitudes to weight, and weight control behaviors. Higher socioeconomic status adolescents had greater awareness of the social ideals of slimness and had more family and friends who were trying to lose weight. They also defined a lower body mass index as "fat" and were more likely to have used healthy weight control methods. The results support the idea that socioeconomic differences in weight-related attitudes and behaviors may mediate the development of a gradient in weight.
Wardle
Jane
J
Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Unit, University College London, London, England. j.wardle@ucl.ac.uk
Robb
Kathryn A
KA
Johnson
Fiona
F
Griffith
Jayne
J
Brunner
Eric
E
Power
Chris
C
Tovee
Martin
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D001290:Attitude; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires