Sociodemographic and personal characteristics of adolescents engaged in weight loss and weight/muscle gain behaviors: Who is doing what?

Background. Prevalence rates of behaviors aimed at weight loss and weight/m uscle gain among adolescents were examined across sociodemographic and pers onal anthropometric variables to provide insight into these behaviors and i dentify high-risk subgroups. Methods, A statewide representative sample of 7th, 9th, and Ilth grade publ ic school students from Connecticut completed a classroom-administered surv ey on adolescent health in 1995-1996. The study sample in the present analy sis included 9,118 adolescents. Results. The most frequently reported weight control behavior was exercise followed by dieting. Disordered eating (vomiting, diet pills, laxatives, or diuretics) over the previous week was reported by 7.4% of the girls and 3. 1% of the boys. Steroids were used by 0.5%; of the girls and 2.3% of the bo ys. Girls in the highest BMI category were at greatest risk for disordered eating behaviors while boys in the lowest BMI category were at greatest ris k for steroid use. African American and Hispanic girls were less likely tha n Caucasians to diet and exercise, but were more likely to report behaviors aimed at weight gain. Relatively high rates of disordered eating behaviors were reported by African American and Hispanic boys. Older girls reported slightly more dieting and disordered eating and less exercise than younger girls. Youth from low socioeconomic backgrounds were at greater risk for di sordered eating than youth from high socioeconomic backgrounds. Conclusions. The findings suggest a need to widen our scope of thinking wit h regard to who is concerned with their body shape/size and at risk for eng aging in potentially dangerous behaviors aimed at either weight loss or mus cle gain. (C) 1999 American Health Foundation and Academic Press.