Prevalence of Weight Control Behaviors among Adolescent Girls

Monique Sukamto, Fajrianthi, Hamidah

2018

Abstract

Dieting or weight control behaviors have become increasingly widespread among adolescents, particularly adolescent girls. Girls may engage in a range of weight control behaviors, from healthy, such as exercising and eating more fruits and vegetables, to unhealthy and extreme strategies including fasting, skipping meals, and taking diet pills. The purpose of this study was to systematically review existing literatures on prevalence of weight control behaviors among adolescents girls in Western and non-Western countries. Studies were identified through a systematic search using PsycINFO, Google Scholar, and secondary references. Thirty studies published between 1983 and 2016 in 10 countries were identified and divided into 3 groups of years, ie. 1980-1999, 2000-2009, and 2010-2016. The findings across the three groups showed that: (a) the prevalence of weight control behaviors among adolescent girls were associated with weight status and weight perception; (b) exercising was the most frequently reported healthy strategy; (c) skipping meals, fasting, self-induced vomiting, taking diet pills, and using laxatives were the frequently reported unhealthy and extreme weight control behaviors. Implications for future research are conducting more studies on weight control behaviors among adolescents in different countries for designing prevention and intervention programs towards the negative consequences of unhealthy and extreme behaviors.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Sukamto M., Fajrianthi. and Hamidah. (2018). Prevalence of Weight Control Behaviors among Adolescent Girls.In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Psychology in Health, Educational, Social, and Organizational Settings - Volume 1: ICP-HESOS, ISBN 978-989-758-435-0, pages 120-132. DOI: 10.5220/0008586201200132

in Bibtex Style

@conference{icp-hesos18,
author={Monique Sukamto and Fajrianthi and Hamidah},
title={Prevalence of Weight Control Behaviors among Adolescent Girls},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Psychology in Health, Educational, Social, and Organizational Settings - Volume 1: ICP-HESOS,},
year={2018},
pages={120-132},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0008586201200132},
isbn={978-989-758-435-0},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Psychology in Health, Educational, Social, and Organizational Settings - Volume 1: ICP-HESOS,
TI - Prevalence of Weight Control Behaviors among Adolescent Girls
SN - 978-989-758-435-0
AU - Sukamto M.
AU - Fajrianthi.
AU - Hamidah.
PY - 2018
SP - 120
EP - 132
DO - 10.5220/0008586201200132