FEEDING FREQUENCY AND BMI AMONG TEENAGERS AGED 16-17 YEARS

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between feeding frequency (FFQ) and body mass index (BMI) in a free-living group of te enagers, since recent evidence suggests that this may be an artifact o f under-reporting. The data was cross-sectional, and a sample of 731 r espondents (M = 298, F = 433) from the 1970 Longitudinal Birth Cohort Study were investigated. An initial significant relationship between F FQ and BMI was found for both males and females. However, the removal of overweight males who were dieting and a group of non-dieting female s with BMI < 25 who perceived themselves to be overweight negated this relationship for mates and females respectively. In conclusion, the a pparent relationship between FFQ and BMI observed in this and other fr ee-living studies appears to be an artifact of dieting and dietary res traint rather than simply under-reporting.