EATING DISTURBANCES IN WHITE AND MINORITY FEMALE DIETERS

Objective: This study examined disordered eating, attitudes about weig ht and appearance, self-esteem, weight loss, and reasons for weight re gain in a sample of white, black, Asian, and Hispanic female dieters. Method: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, we scrutinized surv ey responses of a large number of households subscribing to Consumer R eports magazine. Females (N = 9,971) between 27 and 65 years old (M = 42.9, SD = 10.4) with a mean body mass index (BMI) of 27.2 (SD = 6.2) were selected for comparisons. Results: Ethnic groups were different i n terms of age, BMI, household income, and marital status. Therefore, these variables were used as covariates in the analyses. More black wo men were overweight and purged compared to the other groups. Asian wom en valued the beneficial role of exercise in weight control more, whil e black women were more inclined to attribute weight gain to cravings and slow metabolism. The groups did not differ in terms of binge eatin g, attitudes about weight and appearance, self-esteem, the number of a ttempts to lose weight, and the reasons for their failures. Conclusion s: This study suggests that unhealthy eating attitudes and practices m ay be similar for women who diet, irrespective of ethnic background. H owever, the generalizability of these findings is limited by the inher ent sampling bias. (C) 1998 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.