Previous research on gender differences between males and females on the risk factors leading to disordered eating is sparse, especially on males and eating disorders using attachment theory. This study examined the relationship between adult attachment style and disordered eating in men and women. Secure attachment scores were significantly…

The preoccupation of some female sports enthusiasts with thinness is frequently symptomatic of underlaying emotional problems. This article examines the problem and makes suggestions to enable coaches to cope with these athletes. (MT)

The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the 26-item Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26; Garner, Olmsted, Bohr, & Garfinkel, 1982) using a sample of 207 female college athletes. Previous studies using nonathlete populations have supported a number of factor structures, but a series of confirmatory factor analyses…

The article examines cultural pressure for extreme thinness in the United States and its impact as a possible predisposing factor for developing eating disorders among adolescent females. Preventive strategies are recommended to help adolescents balance this pressure and their own desire for attractiveness within the larger context of good health.…

As women have gained entry and status in the workforce over the past century, societal focus on female beauty and thinness has intensified, and rates of eating disorders have risen. In tandem with these trends, many career women have come to associate success at work with the ability to maintain strict control over body weight. This control…

States that although the influence of fashion advertising on women's relationships with food and their bodies has received considerable attention, the role of food advertising in women's magazines has been virtually unexplored. Argues that food advertisements reflect and contribute to the primary precursors of eating disorders: body…

This paper reviews "Slim Hopes: Advertising & The Obsession with Thinness," a 30-minute video produced by the University of Massachusetts' Media Education Foundation, which discusses America's compulsion with thinness. Although the format of the video is the traditional "talking head," over 120 print and television…

Examines research indicating that children are affected by U.S. society's preoccupation with thinness, discusses self-esteem and healthy body image, and offers suggestions for incorporating strategies into existing comprehensive school health programs to deter disordered eating and inappropriate dieting habits among children. (SM)

Conflicts that accompany weight loss as indicated by the presence of anxieties and fears in individuals who have lost an uncontestably large amount of weight were investigated. Subjects (N=12) who had lost a minimum of 100 pounds in a medically supervised weight program were interviewed about the onset of obesity, concurrent personal conflicts,…

Interviewed 26 lesbian college students about body image concerns and lesbian identity. Results indicate that these young lesbians had a body ideal that included thinness and fitness. The complexity of lesbians' feelings about their bodies and conflicts between lesbian and mainstream body image values are explored. (SLD)

Describes a study of weight control techniques and bulimic tendencies among elite female participants in an Olympic Swimming Selection Meet. Results showed concern with thinness, body dissatisfaction, and unhealthy eating, dieting, and weight loss patterns among participants. Discusses the explanatory power of the PRECEDE model. (SM)

This investigation surveyed 1268 high school females to identify and compare students for bulimic behavior. Approximately five percent of the students met rigorous criteria for the diagnosis of bulimia. Between-group comparisons indicated that body dissatifaction, drive for thinness, and chronicity of dieting differentiated the two groups.…

Objective: Thin body preoccupation and social pressure to be thin (TBPSP) in adolescence are risk factors for the development of full and partial bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. This study examined precursors of these potent risk factors. Method: A prospective study followed 134 children from birth to 11.0 years and their parents.…

Identifies sociocultural factors contributing to the current emphasis on thinness, examines the negative impact this has had on women's body image, identifies major risk factors in the development of negative body image, and presents focus issues and related strategies designed to enhance body image and prevent development of related problems.…

Five eating reinforcement expectancies and one dieting--thinness reinforcement expectancy were identified and their factor structure replicated on an independent sample of 557 women. Expectancies for negative reinforcement from eating characterized bulimia but not anorexia and were correlated with indexes of restraint plus disinhibition in a…