title: The associations of sociocultural attitudes towards appearance with body dissatisfaction and eating behaviors in Hong Kong adolescents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Western culture has great influences on body dissatisfaction and related eating behaviors in adolescents. This study aimed to assess the sociocultural influences on eating attitudes and motivations among Hong Kong Chinese adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 2007, 909 adolescents (mean age = 14.7 years, 55.3% boys) completed a survey with Stunkard's Figure Rating Scale (FRS), Motivation for Eating Scale (MFES), Eating Attitudes Test (EAT), Revised Restraint Scale (RRS), and Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Scale (SATAQ). In addition, their body mass index (BMI) was objectively measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our results indicated that Hong Kong adolescents, particularly girls exhibited a remarked level of body dissatisfaction, external, emotional, restrained and disordered eating behaviors. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that age, sex and BMI were the most common contributing factors to individual eating styles. SATAQ significantly accounted for an additional variance of body dissatisfaction (2%), physical eating (2%), external eating (1%), emotional eating (3%), restrained eating (5%), and disordered eating (5%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In Hong Kong, the sociocultural influences on body image and eating disturbance were supported.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Ching-Man
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Kwok-Kei
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Mak
authors.forename: Joyce S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Pang
authors.forename: Shirley S M
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Fong
authors.forename: Roger C M
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: Georgia S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Guldan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D001290:Attitude; D001828:Body Image / Q000523:psychology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D003469:Culture; D004435:Eating / Q000523:psychology*; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012737:Sex Factors
keywords: Body dissatisfaction; Eating behaviors; Motivations for eating; Sociocultural attitudes