title: Prevalence of adolescents' self-weighing behaviors and associations with weight-related behaviors and psychological well-being.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the relationships between self-weighing frequency, and weight-related behaviors and psychological well-being in a population-based sample of adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study compared weight-related behaviors between infrequent and frequent self-weighers, stratified by weight status and gender. Data were from Project EAT 2010 (Eating and Activity in Teens), a population-based study of 2,778 adolescents.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Approximately 14% of girls and boys weighed themselves frequently (weekly or more). In comparison to girls who were infrequent self-weighers, girls who were frequent self-weighers were more likely to diet, engage in unhealthy and extreme weight control behaviors, use unhealthy muscle-enhancing behaviors, and have lower self-esteem and greater body dissatisfaction. In comparison to boys who were infrequent self-weighers, boys who were frequent self-weighers were more likely to diet, engage in unhealthy and extreme weight control behaviors, use unhealthy muscle-enhancing behaviors, and report greater depressive symptoms. Among overweight adolescents, in addition to being associated with these harmful outcomes, frequent self-weighing was associated with the use of healthy weight control behaviors and with higher levels of moderate-to-vigorous activity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings indicate that adolescents who frequently self-weigh themselves are at increased risk for a number of problematic health behaviors and poorer psychological outcomes. For overweight adolescents, frequent self-weighing was additionally associated with a number of positive outcomes. Based upon these findings, any recommendations for weight monitoring should be made cautiously; all adolescents, including overweight adolescents, should be advised not to engage in frequent self-weighing behaviors. Furthermore, any adolescents engaging in frequent self-weighing behaviors should be monitored for problematic outcomes.
authors: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Division of Epidemiology, Statistics and Prevention Research, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD, USA. gingermquick@gmail.com
authors: Virginia
authors: V
authors: Quick
authors: Katie
authors: K
authors: Loth
authors: Richard
authors: R
authors: MacLehose
authors: Jennifer A
authors: JA
authors: Linde
authors: Dianne
authors: D
authors: Neumark-Sztainer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001288:Attention; D001828:Body Image; D001835:Body Weight; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004038:Diet, Reducing / Q000523:psychology*; D015444:Exercise / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008910:Minnesota; D050177:Overweight / Q000523:psychology; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012649:Self Concept; D012737:Sex Factors