Objective. To examine the cross-sectional relationships between weight conc
erns, weight control behaviors, and initiation of tobacco use among youths.
Study Design. Smoking status, weight concerns, and weight control behaviors
were assessed in a cross-sectional sample of 16 862 children, 9 to 14 year
s of age, in 1996. Logistic regression was used to examine the relationship
between weight concerns, weight control behaviors, and early stages of smo
king initiation (precontemplation, contemplation, and experimentation). All
analyses were adjusted for age, body mass index, and known predictors of i
nitiation.
Results. Approximately 9% of participants had experimented with cigarettes,
and 6% were contemplating cigarette smoking. Contemplation of tobacco use
was associated with misperception of being overweight (boys: odds ratio [OR
], 1.65; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.10-2.48), unhappiness with appeara
nce (girls: OR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.48-2.84; boys: OR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.05-2.42)
, and a tendency to change eating patterns around peers (girls: OR, 2.87; 9
5% CI, 2.28-3.62; boys: OR, 1.83; 95% CI, 1.25-2.66). Experimentation with
cigarettes was associated with daily exercise to control weight among boys
(OR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.07-3.43) and with monthly purging (OR, 2.54; 95% CI, 1
.27-5.07) and daily dieting among girls (OR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.09-2.96).
Conclusions. Our findings suggest that, among both girls and boys, contempl
ation of smoking is positively related to weight concerns. Experimentation
seems to be positively related to weight control behaviors. It is important
for both pediatricians and comprehensive school health programs to address
healthy methods of weight maintenance and to dispel the notion of tobacco
use as a method of weight control.