title: Prevalence of dieting and fear of weight gain across ages: a community sample from adolescents to the elderly.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The current study aimed to define the prevalence of dieting and fear of weight gain among men and women across the entire lifespan and identify factors associated with them.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were available for 31,636 participants (60.2% women; age 13-98 years) from the Netherlands Twin Register. Dieting and fear of weight gain were described by age and sex. Associations with BMI, exercise behavior, urbanization and educational attainment were examined by regression analyses in 19,294 participants.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Dieting was most frequently reported by 35- to 65-year-old women (56.6-63%), and 45- to 65-year-old men (31.7-31.9%). Fear of weight gain was most prevalent in women between 16 and 25 (73.2-74.3%), and in 25- to 55-year-old men (43.2-46.1%). In addition to sex and BMI, dieting and fear of weight gain were associated with each other. Furthermore, fear was associated with the age × sex interaction and educational attainment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dieting and fear of weight gain is common during the entire lifespan for women, but is also endorsed by a substantial number of men. Given the low rate of overweight in young women, the high levels of fear of weight gain are striking.
authors.affiliation: Rivierduinen Eating Disorders Ursula, P.O. Box 405, 2300 AK, Leiden, The Netherlands. r.optlandt@rivierduinen.nl.
authors.forename: Margarita C T
authors.initials: MCT
authors.lastname: Slof-Op 't Landt
authors.affiliation: Rivierduinen Eating Disorders Ursula, P.O. Box 405, 2300 AK, Leiden, The Netherlands.|Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, P.O. Box 9600, 2300 RC, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Eric F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: van Furth
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Van der Boechorststraat 1, room 2B-29, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Catharina E M
authors.initials: CEM
authors.lastname: van Beijsterveldt
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Van der Boechorststraat 1, room 2B-29, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Meike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bartels
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Van der Boechorststraat 1, room 2B-29, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Gonneke
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Willemsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Van der Boechorststraat 1, room 2B-29, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Eco J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: de Geus
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Van der Boechorststraat 1, room 2B-29, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Lannie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ligthart
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Van der Boechorststraat 1, room 2B-29, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Dorret I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Boomsma
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004038:Diet, Reducing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004522:Educational Status; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D015995:Prevalence; D017678:Sex Distribution; D015430:Weight Gain; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Community study; Dieting; Fear of weight gain; Lifespan; Prevalence