Concerns about weight and shape in overweight 12 year old girls and their mothers

Abstract

Concerns about weight, shape and eating and attempts at dietary restraint are prevalent among young girls, but may increase of the risk of the development of eating disorders, especially if low self-esteem or symptoms of depression are also present. The literature suggests that there may be links between mothers and daughters attitudes towards weight, shape and dietary restraint. The aim of the study was to investigate whether concerns about weight, shape and eating and attempts at dietary restraint differed between overweight and average-weight girls; and whether overweight girls had lower self-esteem, and/or more symptoms of depression than average-weight girls. Possible links between mothers' and daughters' attitudes towards weight and shape and dietary restraint were also investigated. Results showed that overweight girls had more concerns about weight, shape and eating and attempted dietary restraint more than average weight girls. Overweight girls had more negative perception of their athletic competence, physical appearance and global self-worth, and more symptoms of depression than average-weight girls. Mothers of overweight girls, who themselves had higher BMIs than the mothers of average-weight girls, had more concerns and negative beliefs about weight, shape and eating and attempted more dietary restraint, than the mothers of average-weight girls. Although there was some association between mothers' and daughters' concerns in the average-weight group these associations were not present in the overweight group. The conclusions were that overweight girls may be particularly vulnerable to the development of eating disorders, but that the links between mothers' and daughters' concerns are not straightforward.