The authors investigated mediators hypothesized to account for the effects of 2 eating disorder prevention programs using data from 355 adolescent girls who were randomized to a dissonance or a healthy weight intervention or an active control condition. The dissonance intervention produced significant reductions in outcomes (body…

Investigated implications of body-fat differences for dating and sexual activity and implications of heterosexual activity for dieting and weight concerns in adolescent girls. Found that among white girls, and blacks with college-educated mothers, more body fat was associated with lower dating probability, even among non-obese girls. Body fat was…

Investigated the effects of dieting and exercise on resting metabolic rate (RMR) in overweight women (N=10). Results showed that dieting lowered RMR by nearly double that expected on the basis of resulting weight loss; and that exercise caused RMR to rise to a level appropriate to prevailing body weight. (LLL)

This article discusses women's body image resilience. Body image dissatisfaction is prevalent among girls and women. Girls as young as 6 years old experience negative body image, and there is evidence that women struggle with body concerns throughout the life cycle (Lewis & Cachelin, 2001; Smolak, 2002; Striegel-Moore & Franko, 2002). In fact,…

Shows that, for women, the use of thinness-depicting and thinness-promoting (TDP) media predicted disordered-eating symptomatology, drive for thinness, body dissatisfaction, and ineffectiveness. Shows that TDP media use predicted men's endorsement of personal thinness and dieting and select attitudes in favor of thinness and dieting for women.…

Examined the perceived role of sociocultural agents (peers, parents, and media) in influencing body dissatisfaction and dietary restraint in adolescent girls. While current body size strongly predicted ideal body size and dissatisfaction, perceived influence of sociocultural agents also had a direct relationship with body ideal and…

Young adult females' attitudes toward body weight regulation contain important emotional components. To study the effects of body weight cues on emotionality, 160 college students (75 females, 85 males) completed either a body weight related (Q1) or control (Q2) questionnaire prior to taking the California Test of Personality (CTP). An analysis of…

Examined effects of three different aspects of heterosocial activity--mixed-sex activities, dating, and physical involvement with boys--on the diet patterns of adolescent girls. Found interaction between dating and menarcheal status in the prediction of dieting and disordered eating, with dating more strongly linked to dieting and disordered…

This study examined whether behavioral differences (exercise, dieting, changing eating habits, taking pills, or vomiting/taking laxatives to lose weight) exist when identifying the major influencing factors (media, family, friends, teacher/coach, and doctor/nurse) among Black and White men's and women's self-perceptions of body weight. Respondents…

Restraint theory assumes that restrained eating is functionally equivalent to dieting and that "restraint" accounts for the eating behavior of overweight individuals. This study evaluated both of these assumptions. In the first part of the study, normal weight women were divided into groups of unrestrained nondieters, restrained…

Although long-term treatments have successfully reduced or eliminated the binging and purging of bulimia patients, there is a critical need for effective short-term treatments since many bulimics are college students who are not available for lengthy treatment. Seven female university students participated in an eight session individual…

Methods of successful weight loss and factors affecting dieting are discussed. Eating hints are given with the characteristics of an exercise program which has cumulative effects on weight loss. (CM)

Much of the research on relapse crises in dieting has focused on isolated lapse events and relied heavily on retrospective self-report data. The present study sought to overcome these limitations by using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) techniques to examine situations of dietary temptation and lapse with a sample of obese, formerly…

The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with young adults' concerns about age related changes in body image and their anticipated impact on psychosocial functioning. One hundred and sixty-seven college students completed the Body Image and Aging Survey, designed to assess age related issues in body image, the Peer Dieting Survey,…

The current emphasis on thinness has had a negative impact on many women and girls who suffer from a negative body image, poor self-concept, and depression, three conditions that often manifest themselves behaviorally through chronic dieting, compulsive exercise, and eating disorders. Socio-cultural factors that have contributed to this emphasis…