Symposium on ‘Nutrition and health in children and adolescents’ Session 3: Eating behaviour and early indicators of metabolic syndrome Motivation for eating behaviour in adolescent girls: the body beautiful

The role of social media in the process of shaping the “body cult” among young women

Introduction: The purpose of this article is to analyse the phenomenon of “body cult” as well as psychological and social factors conditioning its occurrence among young women. Particular attention was paid to the role of social media and an attempt was made to indicate possible preventive measures to promote health-popularising behaviour towards the body among high school students.

Materials and methods: On the basis of the review of the available literature, developmental conditions of the adolescence period and research results on the subject were presented.

Results: The paper presents the role of social media in the context of shaping behaviours related to “body cult”.

Conclusions: The content presented on blogs and social networks put pressure on young women to cultivate the physical characteristics of a person. In this perspective, excessive focus on striving for the perfect figure can lead to the development of anti-health behaviour. Further research is definitely needed.

Association of socio-culture factors with disordered eating behavior: An empirical study on urban young girls of West Bengal, India

A shift towards the concept of thin body image is occurring among the urban girls, as an outcome of mass media exposure. A large section of the girls are involved in attaining thin body image which at times develops dissatisfaction over body weight. Body weight dissatisfaction gives rise to the development of body weight concern and disordered eating behavior. The present research aimed to find out the association of socio-cultural factors with disordered eating behavior among a group of urban girls. The study group included 400 girls aged between 14 and 21 years, residing in the city of Howrah, West Bengal, eastern state of India. Information on socio-demographic characteristics, body weight concern, media habits, and family-peer environments was collected using standard pretested questionnaires. A cross-culturally tested questionnaire developed by Srinivasan and colleagues in 1998, was used to measure disordered eating behavior. Bivariate analyses found significant associations between eating behavior and several socio-cultural factors. Multivariate analysis revealed that education level of fathers and birth order of the participants, body weight concern and peers’ influence were the significant predictors of disordered eating behavior of the study participants. Socio-cultural factors have significant associations with the disordered eating behavior of the study participants.

How do energy balance-related behaviors cluster in adolescents?

OBJECTIVES

To delineate the clustering of energy balance-related behaviors in adolescents and investigate whether these behaviors are associated with the household socioeconomic status and parental education level.

METHODS

Two cross-sectional studies assessed information on sedentary behavior, physical activity, sugar-sweetened beverages and fruit and vegetable consumption, and sleep duration by self-reported questionnaires in adolescents (12.5-17.5 years old) from Maringá/Brazil (BRACAH Study; n = 682) and ten European cities (HELENA Study; n = 1252) from nine different countries. Gender-specific cluster analyses were performed separately for each study, applying a combination of hierarchical and non-hierarchical methods.

RESULTS

Girls showed equivalent behaviors: Sedentary; Active; Unhealthy Eating; Healthy Eating; while boys differed (Brazilian: Sedentary; Active; Healthy Eating; European: Sedentary; Healthy; Unhealthy Eating). In Brazil, we found no association between socioeconomic status and parental education. In European girls, the high socioeconomic status and both parents' university degree were associated with Healthy Eating. In European boys, the high socioeconomic status was associated with Unhealthy Eating, and the mothers' university degree was associated with the Healthy cluster.

CONCLUSIONS

Adolescents show Sedentary behavior, regardless of their sex, country of origin, or socioeconomic condition.

Secular Trend in Thinness Prevalence for 26 Years (1989 - 2014) among High School Runners in Japan

Background

Female distance runners are predisposed to thinness for performance reasons and at greater risk for health-related consequences than the general population.

Objectives

The aim of the study was to evaluate the secular trends in thinness among competitive distance runners in Japanese high schools with sex-specific comparison.

Methods

Body mass index (BMI) were analysed in 9,881 female and 12,786 male runners participating in the annual national road relay races between 1989 and 2014 using the directory of a track and field magazine. The age-specific trends of these variables and the prevalence of thinness were tested by linear and logistic regression, respectively.

Results

Although BMI declined significantly among both male and female runners (coefficients: boys, -0.033, -0.030, and -0.032; girls, -0.033, -0.034, and -0.034 [all P < 0.001] in 15.5-, 16.5-, and 17.5-year-olds, respectively), the prevalence of severely thin runners significantly increased only among girls (odds ratios for the yearly change = 1.05 and 1.06 [both P < 0.01] for 16.5- and 17.5-year-olds, respectively). Only 0.13% of male runners were regarded as severely thin throughout the study period.

Conclusions

The results suggested that severely thin girl runners has steadily increased. Surveys on the health consequences of extreme thinness are necessary for the female adolescent runners.

Do weight status and television viewing influence children's subsequent dietary changes? A National Longitudinal Study in the United States

Objective

It is unknown how children’s dietary changes would vary by overweight/obese status and length of TV-viewing. This study examined whether US children’s weight status and TV-viewing duration influenced their subsequent dietary behavioral changes.

Methods

A national representative sample of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Kindergarten Cohort were followed between 5^th and 8^th grades during 2004–2007 (N=7,720). Children’s daily TV-viewing hour and weight status were measured at 5^th grade. Children reported their dietary behaviors at the 5^th and 8^th grades, including fruit/vegetable consumption ≥5 times/day (five-a-day), daily fast food and soft drink consumption. Logistic models were used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) of dietary behavioral changes by children’s baseline weight status and TV-viewing duration. Gender and race/ethnicity differences in the ORs were examined. Sampling weight and design effect were considered for the analysis.

Results

Among those without five-a-day at 5^th grade, overweight/obese children were more likely to develop the five-a-day behavior at 8^th grade than normal weight children (for overweight: OR=1.65, 95% CI=1.14-2.39; obese: OR=1.35, 95% CI=0.81-2.23). Among girls, overweight group was more likely to develop eating vegetable ≥3 times/day than normal weight group, but 1 more hour/day of TV-viewing at baseline was associated with lower odds of developing eating vegetable ≥3 times/day. Overweight/obese black and Hispanic children were significantly more likely to develop five-a-day than their normal weight counterparts. TV-viewing did not show modification effect on the association between weight status and subsequent dietary changes.

Conclusions

Overweight/obese children were more likely to improve their subsequent FV consumption than normal weight children, but TV-viewing’s independent relationship with dietary changes may counteract the weight status-associated dietary improvement.

Temporality in British young women's magazines: food, cooking and weight loss

OBJECTIVE

The present study examines seasonal and temporal patterns in food-related content of two UK magazines for young women focusing on food types, cooking and weight loss.

DESIGN

Content analysis of magazines from three time blocks between 1999 and 2011.

SETTING

Desk-based study.

SUBJECTS

Ninety-seven magazines yielding 590 advertisements and 148 articles.

RESULTS

Cluster analysis of type of food advertising produced three clusters of magazines, which reflected recognised food behaviours of young women: vegetarianism, convenience eating and weight control. The first cluster of magazines was associated with Christmas and Millennium time periods, with advertising of alcohol, coffee, cheese, vegetarian meat substitutes and weight-loss pills. Recipes were prominent in article content and tended to be for cakes/desserts, luxury meals and party food. The second cluster was associated with summer months and 2010 issues. There was little advertising for conventional foods in cluster 2, but strong representation of diet plans and foods for weight loss. Weight-loss messages in articles focused on short-term aesthetic goals, emphasising speedy weight loss without giving up nice foods or exercising. Cluster 3 magazines were associated with post-New Year and 2005 periods. Food advertising was for everyday foods and convenience products, with fewer weight-loss products than other clusters; conversely, article content had a greater prevalence of weight-loss messages.

CONCLUSIONS

The cyclical nature of magazine content - indulgence and excess encouraged at Christmas, restraint recommended post-New Year and severe dieting advocated in the summer months - endorses yo-yo dieting behaviour and may not be conducive to public health.

When romance and rivalry awaken : attractiveness-based social judgment biases emerge at adolescence

Previous research indicates positive effects of a person's attractiveness on evaluations of opposite-sex persons, but less positive or even negative effects of attractiveness on same-sex evaluations. These biases are consistent with social motives linked to mate search and intrasexual rivalry. In line with the hypothesis that such motives should not become operative until after puberty, 6- to 12-year-old participants (i.e., children) displayed no evidence for biased social evaluations based on other people's attractiveness. In contrast, 13- to 19-year-old participants (i.e., adolescents) displayed positive and negative attractiveness biases toward opposite- and same-sex targets, respectively. Moreover, these biases increased with the age-and thus the reproductive relevance-of the targets being evaluated. Findings corroborate the relevance of mating-related motives for social judgment and illustrate how such biases can grow during human development. At a broader conceptual level, this research demonstrates the utility of investigating proximate social judgment processes through the lens of adaptationist thinking.

Body sizes in print media: Are there ethnic differences? A brief report

There is evidence that black women are more satisfied with their body size despite higher rates of overweight. One possible mechanism is differential exposure to ultrathin images. We hypothesized that models in magazines aimed at black women are not as thin as models in materials aimed at the general population. Pictures of women from magazines aimed at black women and magazines aimed at the general population were compared (N=51). Female raters (21 white, 21 black) matched pictures to one of four drawings depicting very thin to normal-weight women. The mean body size of pictures from black magazines was significantly higher than for general magazines (p<0.001, d=0.89); 85% of pictures from general magazines were in the two thinnest size categories compared with 46% of pictures from black magazines. Media aimed at black women are less likely to use extremely slim models, which could contribute to or reflect a greater range of acceptable body sizes.

A qualitative investigation into the opinions of adolescent females regarding their body image concerns and dieting practices in the Republic of Ireland (ROI)

The aim of this study was to investigate the opinions of female adolescents living in the ROI on issues relating to body image and dietary practice. A qualitative study was selected to enable the issues to be explored in depth. Sixteen focus groups were executed with adolescent females (n=124) aged 15-16 years. Data collection took place during class time in both rural and urban schools in the ROI. Data were analysed using a qualitative thematic methodology, namely framework analysis. High levels of body dissatisfaction existed and dieting was found to be prevalent. The influence of media celebrities was significant. The girls not only aspired to be like them in terms of physique but also followed their alleged dieting regimes in detail. Peers also influenced body dissatisfaction and dieting practices. Consequently, eating habits were altered to accommodate this quest for thinness with a tendency to skip main meals as part of the dieting practice while maintaining an unhealthy snacking pattern. The results are of concern as the adolescent females were utilising unhealthy methods of weight control such as skipping meals and fasting in their quest to obtain a thin physique. A slim body image was deemed important for peer acceptance; hence 'crash' dieting was in existence. This mindset and the resultant dietary practices may have negative health consequences during both adolescence and later life. School interventions targeting adolescent females and focusing on healthy eating and body image are therefore urgently required.

Reducing unhealthy weight gain in children through community capacity-building: results of a quasi-experimental intervention program, Be Active Eat Well

BACKGROUND

Be Active Eat Well (BAEW) was a multifaceted community capacity-building program promoting healthy eating and physical activity for children (aged 4-12 years) in the Australian town of Colac.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effects of BAEW on reducing children's unhealthy weight gain.

METHODS

BAEW had a quasi-experimental, longitudinal design with anthropometric and demographic data collected on Colac children in four preschools and six primary schools at baseline (2003, n=1001, response rate: 58%) and follow-up (2006, n=839, follow-up rate: 84%). The comparison sample was a stratified random selection of preschools (n=4) and primary schools (n=12) from the rest of the Barwon South Western region of Victoria, with baseline assessment in 2003-2004 (n=1183, response rate: 44%) and follow-up in 2006 (n=979, follow-up rate: 83%).

RESULTS

Colac children had significantly lower increases in body weight (mean: -0.92 kg, 95% CI: -1.74 to -0.11), waist (-3.14 cm, -5.07 to -1.22), waist/height (-0.02, -0.03 to -0.004), and body mass index z-score (-0.11, -0.21 to -0.01) than comparison children, adjusted for baseline variable, age, height, gender, duration between measurements and clustering by school. In Colac, the anthropometric changes were not related to four indicators of socioeconomic status (SES), whereas in the comparison group 19/20 such analyses showed significantly greater gains in anthropometry in children from lower SES families. Changes in underweight and attempted weight loss were no different between the groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Building community capacity to promote healthy eating and physical activity appears to be a safe and effective way to reduce unhealthy weight gain in children without increasing health inequalities.