Abstract
BackgroundDespite the global obesity epidemic, few studies have performed cross-national comparisons of adolescents' attempts to lose weight and weight control practices. This study aims to investigate matters mentioned above by weight status in Europe, Israel, and North America.MethodsNationally representative samples of adolescents from over 30 countries completed an anonymous, standardized questionnaire as part of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children 2001/2002 survey. The prevalence and likelihood of attempts to lose weight were determined. The effect of weight status, self-perception of overweight, age and country of residence upon the likelihood of current attempts to lose weight were evaluated using multilevel multivariate logistic regression in separate analyses for boys and girls. The study also presented the prevalence of weight control practices of overweight and non-overweight adolescents who had controlled their weight in seven countries.ResultsIn general, overweight and obese adolescents were more likely to be engaged in current attempts to lose weight and had tried to control their weight during the past 12 months more often than non-overweight adolescents. Besides weight status, self-perception of overweight and age were significant individual-level factors determining current attempts to lose weight. Country of residence was a significant second-level factor but no clear geographical pattern was found. Several gender-related differences existed.ConclusionThe findings indicated that most overweight adolescents were motivated to reduce their weight. The importance of promoting a healthy body image for all adolescents was highlighted by the fact that self-perception of overweight was found to be the most important factor leading to attempts to lose weight.
Highlights
Despite the global obesity epidemic, few studies have performed cross-national comparisons of adolescents' attempts to lose weight and weight control practices
Prevalence rates of current attempts to lose weight, weight controlling during the past 12 months, and used weight control practices were examined according to weight status
Logistic regression analyses with odds ratios were carried out to assess the influence of weight status on the risk of current weight loss attempts and weight controlling during the past 12 months
Summary
Despite the global obesity epidemic, few studies have performed cross-national comparisons of adolescents' attempts to lose weight and weight control practices. Being thin is greatly valued within Western societies and a considerable number of adolescents with normal weight, especially girls, are trying to lose weight to achieve the socially endorsed ideal of a beautiful body [35]. As a rule, both the prevalence and frequency of weight control behaviour, among adolescents, multiplies as the body mass index increases [3,6,7]. Repeated attempts to lose weight may lead to a cycle of restrictive dieting, followed by overeating or binge eating which can promote weight gain in adolescents. Adolescent dieters were shown to have gained more weight than non-dieters during a three-year follow-up study in the USA [12]
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