Overweight concerns and body dissatisfaction among third-grade children: The impacts of ethnicity and socioeconomic status

Objective: To examine the prevalence of overweight concerns and body dissat isfaction among third-grade girls and boys and the influences of ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES). Study design: Nine hundred sixty-nine children (mean age, 8.5 years) attend ing 13 northern California public elementary schools completed assessments of overweight concerns, body dissatisfaction, and desired shape, height, an d weight. Results: The sample was 44% white, 21% Latino, 19% non-Filipino Asian Ameri can, 8% Filipino, and 5% African American. Twenty-six percent of boys and 3 5% of girls reported wanting to lose weight, and 17% of boys and 24% of gir ls reported dieting to lose weight. Among girls, Latinas and African Americ ans reported significantly more overweight concerns than Asian Americans an d Filipinas, and Latinas reported significantly more overweight concerns th an whites. White and Latina girls also reported greater body dissatisfactio n than Asian American girls. Some differences persisted even after controll ing for actual body fatness. Higher SES African American girls reported sig nificantly more overweight concerns than lower SES African American girls, but higher SES white girls reported less overweight concerns than lower SES white girls. Conclusion: Overweight concerns and body dissatisfaction are highly prevale nt among third-grade girls and boys, across ethnicity and SES. Young Latina and African American girls manifest equivalent or higher levels of disorde red eating attitudes and behaviors as white and Asian American girls.