Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Vol. 20, No. 3, 1991 Body Image Satisfaction, Dieting Beliefs, Weight Loss Behaviors in Adolescent Girls and Boys and Susan J. Paxton, 1,7 Eleanor H. Wertheim, 2 Kay Gibbons, 3 George I. Szmukler, 4 Lynne Hillier, 5 and Janice L. Petrovich 6 Received July 14, 1990;acceptedAugust 20, 1990 Body image and weight loss beliefs and behaviors were assessed in 341 female and 221 male high school students. Estimates of body dissatisfaction varied depending on the measurement strategy used. Despite having similar weight distributions around the expected norm, girls were significantly more dissatisfied with their bodies than boys. Body Mass lndex was positively related to body dissatisfaction in girls and boys, while higher exercise levels were related to higher body satisfaction in boys. Nearly two-thirds of girls and boys believed being thinner would have an impact on their lives, but the majority of girls 1Lecturer, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3083. Received Ph.D. from University of Tasmania. Main research interest in body image, weight loss behaviors, and eating disorders. 2Senior Lecturer, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3083. Received Ph.D. from University of Connecticut. Main research interest in body image, eating disorders and weight loss behaviors. 3Chief Dietitian, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3052. Dietitian degree from Melbourne University, Melbourne. Main research interest in eating practices and clinical outcome. 4Consultant Psychiatrist, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Senior Associate, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3052. M.D. from University of Melbourne, D.P.M. from U.K. FRC Psych. Main research interests in eating disorders. 5Research Assistant, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3083. B.B.Sc.(Hons.) received from La Trobe University, Melbourne, B.A. received from University of Minnesota, Duluth. Main research interest in attitudes and attributions. 6Research Assistant at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3083. B.A. Received from University of Minnesota, Duluth. Main research interest in adolescence and eating disorders. 7"I"o whom reprint requests should be addressed at Department of Behavioural Health Sciences, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia, 3083. 361 0047-2891/91/0600-0361506.50 1991 Plenum Publishing Corporation
Transcript
Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Vol. 20, No. 3, 1991
Body Image Satisfaction, Dieting Beliefs, Weight Loss Behaviors in Adolescent Girls and Boys
and
Susan J. Paxton, 1,7 Eleanor H. Wertheim, 2 Kay Gibbons, 3 George I. Szmukler, 4 Lynne Hillier, 5 and Janice L. Petrovich 6 Received July 14, 1990; accepted August 20, 1990
Body image and weight loss beliefs and behaviors were assessed in 341 female and 221 male high school students. Estimates of body dissatisfaction varied depending on the measurement strategy used. Despite having similar weight distributions around the expected norm, girls were significantly more dissatisfied with their bodies than boys. Body Mass lndex was positively related to body dissatisfaction in girls and boys, while higher exercise levels were related to higher body satisfaction in boys. Nearly two-thirds of girls and boys believed being thinner would have an impact on their lives, but the majority of girls
1Lecturer, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3083. Received Ph.D. from University of Tasmania. Main research interest in body image, weight loss behaviors, and eating disorders.
2Senior Lecturer, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3083. Received Ph.D. from University of Connecticut. Main research interest in body image, eating disorders and weight loss behaviors.
3Chief Dietitian, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3052. Dietitian degree from Melbourne University, Melbourne. Main research interest in eating practices and clinical outcome.
4Consultant Psychiatrist, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Senior Associate, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3052. M.D. from University of Melbourne, D.P.M. from U.K. FRC Psych. Main research interests in eating disorders.
5Research Assistant, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3083. B.B.Sc.(Hons.) received from La Trobe University, Melbourne, B.A. received from University of Minnesota, Duluth. Main research interest in attitudes and attributions.
6Research Assistant at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3083. B.A. Received from University of Minnesota, Duluth. Main research interest in adolescence and eating disorders.
7"I"o whom reprint requests should be addressed at Department of Behavioural Health Sciences, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia, 3083.
believed this would be positive while the majority o f boys believed this would be negative. Thirteen percent o f female subjects reported using one or more extreme weight loss behavior at least weekly. Beliefs regarding the effectiveness of different weight loss measures were assessed. Weight loss behaviors in this Australian sample appear similar to comparable U.S. samples.
INTRODUCTION
Research in the past decade has pointed to a high prevalence of body dissatisfaction and weight loss behaviors among adolescents, especially girls (e.g., Crowther et al., 1985; Desmond et al., 1986; Eisele et al., 1986; Rosen and Gross, 1987). These findings are a cause for concern since poor body image and weight loss behaviors have been associated with disordered eating in female adolescent samples (Attie and Brooks-Gunn, 1989; Crow- ther et al., 1985; Grant and Fodor, 1986; Gross and Rosen, 1988; Johnson et aL, 1984).
In reviewing the literature, however, it becomes clear that not all studies find similar proportions of subjects reporting body dissatisfaction. Eisele et al. (1986) found that 78% of 12-14-year-old girls would prefer to weigh less and only 14% reported they were satisfied with their current weight. A similar level (83%) of dissatisfaction was found by Storz and Greene (1983) in 14-18-year-old girls, while Desmond et al. (1986) reported that 43% of females and 9% of males classified as a normal weight described themselves as heavy. In contrast, Cohn et al. (1987) found no significant difference between actual and ideal figure in 10.5-15-year-old girls, although 38% had a thinner ideal than their current figure. The varia- tion between the studies may reflect different subject characteristics, or al- ternatively, different methods of assessing body satisfaction. A first aim of the present study, therefore, is to examine body satisfaction using a variety of methods of measurement to examine whether different methods yield different results. In addition, since two studies (Cohn et al., 1987; Eisele et aL, 1986) indicate that body dissatisfaction may increase after puberty in girls (though not in boys), a variety of age levels will be examined to assess whether variations in results may be attributed to age differences.
Although previous studies indicate considerable body weight dis- satisfaction, especially in girls, they do not provide information regarding why adolescents want a different body size. Therefore, this study ex- amined the perceived impact of being thinner. Further, since it appears that boys place greater value on physical effectiveness than appearance (Grant and Fodor, 1986), satisfaction with physical fitness and beliefs regarding the benefits of physical fitness were also examined.
Body Image Satisfaction 363
Closely related to body dissatisfaction, in girls particularly, are weight loss behaviors. At any one time a large number of adolescent girls are on diets, with estimates ranging from 25% (Leon et aL, 1989; Williams et al., 1986) to 63% (Rosen and Gross, 1987). In addition, studies report the fre- quent use of both moderate weight loss methods, such as exercising or reducing snacks, and more extreme techniques, such as fasting or vomiting (Crowther et aL, 1985; Lachenmeyer and Muni-Brander, 1988; Rosen and Gross, 1987). Very little is known, however, about beliefs regarding these methods. Storz and Greene (1983) asked high school girls to rate the "desirability" of certain weight loss methods. Unexpectedly, the methods rated as more desirable were not necessarily the methods most used. A possible reason for this is that students might have understood "desirable" to mean healthy rather than effective and students may not see the healthy methods as the most effective ones. Therefore, the present paper specifi- cally explored adolescent beliefs about the effectiveness of various weight loss methods.
Finally, the current study extends the body image and dieting litera- ture to a sample of Australian adolescents. In a comprehensive cross cul- tural study of adolescent self-image, Offer et al. (1988) found body image in Australian girls to be the lowest and in Australian boys the second lowest of the Western industrialized countries examined. Further research findings suggest that cultural factors such as race (Howat and Saxton, 1988; Rosen and Gross, 1987) and socioeconomic status (Lachenmeyer and Muni- Brander, 1988; Lachenmeyer et al., 1988; Rosen and Gross, 1987) may be related to body image and dieting variables. However, most research to date has been conducted in the United States. It is important to ascertain the prevalence of body image dissatisfaction and dieting behaviors in other adolescent samples, in order to assess how generalizable U.S. results are to other western communities.
METHOD
Subjects
Three hundred and forty-one female and 221 male high school students, from seven schools in the greater Melbourne area, participated in this study. The schools were selected to represent a range of geographic and socioeconomic status areas (Levels 1-5) according to the Ross Indicator (Ross, 1984). They included a private girls and private boys school, a girls public school, and four coeducational public schools. In each school three or four classes, each from a different year level, were assessed. In total there were
364 Paxton et al.
132, 155, 140, 114, and 21 students from Year 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11, respectively. The study was conducted in compulsory subject classes in order to minimize biasing toward any particular student type. The age of subjects ranged between 11 and 18 years with a mean of 14.0 years (SD = 1.28).
The sample represented a range of ethnic backgrounds. The parents of about half the students were born in Australia, while parents of the other students were born in Italy (9%), Greece (8%), Great Britain (8%), other European countries (9%), Asian countries (6.5%), the Middle East (4.5%), other countries (2.5%), and no response given (3%). There were no significant differences between males and females on age (t = -1.93, df = 557, p = 0.54) or mother's education level (t = -.66, df = 400, p = .51), while boys' fathers were reported as slightly more educated than girls' fathers (t = -2.19, df = 386, p = .03).
A week prior to the study, students were given parental consent forms. Eighty-five percent and 90% were returned from girls and boys, respectively, and these 562 students participated in the study. In fact, only 3.5% refused to participate and the rest were absent on the occasion of data collection.
Procedure
In two adjacent class periods, students completed a number of self- report questionnaires. While one experimenter guided the class and answered questions, a second took height and weight measurements in a separate room. Questionnaires were all coded to increase confidentiality.
Measures of Body Image Attitudes
Body image attitudes were assessed using the Body Dissatisfaction and Drive for Thinness subscales of the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI; Garner et al., 1983) and the Body Figure Perception Questionnaire (Fallon and Rozin, 1985; Stunkard et aL, 1980). The latter test consists of two sets of figures (female if the subject is female, male if the subject is male) in which nine figures range from emaciated to obese. On the first set, subjects rate what they regard to be their current figure; on the second set, they rate the size they would like to be. The scale is numbered from 1 (smallest) to 17, with odd numbers associated with the figures and even numbers mid- way between figures. The discrepancy between current and ideal figure (current figure-ideal figure) represents body dissatisfaction.
Body Image Satisfaction 365
Eight items measuring perceived impact of being thinner were included. Subjects indicated from five choices how aspects of their lives would change if they were thinner, e.g., "If you were thinner you would be: Much more happy; more happy; the same as now; less happy; much less happy." Items included happy, successful, healthy, good or bad looking, number of friends, number of dates, how intelligent one appears and how easily one gets what one wants. A similar 8 items assessed perceived impact of physical fitness with the sentence stem "If you were physically fitter . . . . " A 4-item Satis- faction with Fitness Scale was constructed including how satisfied subjects were with "your ability to perform normal physical activities," "your sporting ability," "how physically strong you are," and "your level of physical fitness." The reliability of this scale was assessed on a preliminary sample of 60 nursing students and adolescents, and was satisfactory, with an alpha of .83. In the current sample the alpha levels were .85 for females and .84 for males. All corrected item total correlations were greater than .20.
Previous to actually weighing and measuring the subjects, subjects were asked to estimate their height and weight, and to rate their weight on a 5-point scale from very underweight to very overweight. They were also asked to estimate how many hours exercise they performed in a week.
Measures of Weight Loss Behaviors
An Eating and Diet Questionnaire, constructed for this study, assessed dieting history, sources of information on weight loss methods, and peer and parental pressure to diet. In addition, subjects were given a list of weight loss strategies and asked to rate them according to whether they believed each method helps a lot, helps a little, or does not help to lose weight. Students were also given the option to indicate if they did not know of the particular method described. Finally, demographic information including parent 's birthplace, educational level, and employment was collected.
RESULTS
In the following analyses, an alpha level of .01 was used. Rather than including only subjects with complete data (which would have significantly decreased sample size and possibly biased the data), all possible subjects were used in each analysis and dfs are included. The only exception is that estimates of current vs. ideal figure, impact of thinness and fitness, and estimates of over- or underweight were made for subjects who had corn-
366 Paxton et al.
plete data whenever those measures were used comparatively. In t tests, pooled variance estimates were used, except where the df has a decimal point indicating that separate variance t's were calculated. All probability levels are two tailed.
Body Assessment Estimates
When asked to estimate their weight, 29.1% and 12.3% of girls and boys respectively left this question blank, while 27.1% of girls and 12.3% of boys omit ted an estimate of height. In both cases the dif- ference between girls and boys was significant (sex by weight omission ~2 = 20.78, df = 1, p < .00005; height omission, Z2 = 16.58, df = 1, p < .00005). Of girls, 17.4% actually refused to be weighed, and 3.8% refused to be measured for height. This contrasts with 1.4% of boys refusing to be weighed and .4% refusing to be measured (sex by weight refusal 22 = 33.1, df = 1, p < .00005; height refusal 22 = 4.9, df = 1, p = .03).
Boys were quite accurate in their estimates of weight and height, as indicated by correlations between self-report and actual weight and height of r = .94 and r = .90, respectively. Girls were slightly less accurate with correlations between self-report and actual weight of r = .87 and actual height of r = .79. Girls, but not boys, significantly underestimated their height (girls: mean actual height = 164.0 cm, mean self-report height = 159.22 cm, t = 3.54, df = 242, p < .0005; boys: mean actual height = 167.0 cm, mean self-report = 166.5, t = 1.67, df = 192, p = .10), and their weight (girls: mean actual weight = 52.71 kg, mean self-report = 51.51 kg, t = 3.47, df = 210, p < .001; boys: mean actual weight = 57.85 kg, mean self- report = 57.6 kg, t = .95, df = 192, p = .34).
Attitude Towards Weight
The data indicated considerable variation between girls and boys on their assessment as to whether they were very underweight (girls, .6%; boys, 1.4%), underweight (girls, 4.9%; boys, 9.7%), a good weight (girls, 47.9%; boys, 70.4%), overweight (girls, 43.6%; boys 18.1%), or very overweight (girls, 3.1%, boys, .5%), and a sex by perceived weight distribution was nonrandom (~2 = 46.5, df = 4, p < .00005).
From height and weight measures the Body Mass Index (BMI = weight (kg)/height 2 (m); Keys et al., 1972) was calculated. This was ad- justed for normal changes in body proportion with age in the manner described by Coates et al. (1980) and a body mass percentile determined.
Tab
le I
. T
he P
erce
ntag
e of
Gir
ls a
nd B
oys
Who
Are
Und
er t
he N
orm
(<
85%
), N
orm
al W
eigh
t (8
5-10
9.9%
),
Ove
r th
e N
orm
(11
0.0-
119.
9%),
and
Ver
y O
ver
the
Nor
m (
>_.1
20%
) Usi
ng B
MI
Cri
teri
a, W
ho B
elie
ve T
hem
selv
es T
o B
e V
ery
Und
erw
eigh
t, U
nder
wei
ght,
a G
ood
Wei
ght,
Ove
rwei
ght,
or
Ver
y O
verw
eigh
t
O
,.<
o
Gir
ls
Boy
s
Und
er
Nor
mal
O
ver
Ver
y ov
er
Und
er
Nor
mal
O
ver
Ver
y ov
er
Sel
f-ra
ting
(n
=
18)
(n =
18
3)
(n =
35
) (n
=
35)
(n =
9)
(n
=
146)
(n
=
31)
(n =
28
)
Ver
y un
derw
eigh
t 5.
6 .5
0
0 11
.1
1.4
0 0
Und
erw
eigh
t 50
.0
3.3
0 0
44.4
11
.6
0 0
Goo
d w
eigh
t 38
.9
65.0
28
.6
8.6
44.4
80
.1
61.3
42
.9
Ove
rwei
ght
5.6
30.1
71
.4
74.3
0
6.8
35.5
57
.1
Ver
y ov
erw
eigh
t 0
1.1
0 17
.1
0 0
3.2
0
~a
Tab
le I
I. T
he P
erce
ived
Im
pact
of
Bei
ng T
hinn
er f
or G
irls
(F
) an
d B
oys
(M) a
Adv
anta
ges
of t
hinn
ess
item
sco
res
% r
epor
ting
%
rep
orti
ng
thin
ner
wou
ld
thin
ner
wou
ld b
e Se
x di
ffer
ence
s ha
ve i
mpa
ct
adva
ntag
eous
b F
M
on i
tem
sco
res
Item
F
M
F M
X
(S
D)
X
(SD
) F
valu
e p
Be
happ
y 65
62
88
39
3.
72
(.98
) 2.
75
(1.0
8)
110.
58
.000
B
e su
cces
sful
31
39
90
33
3.
35
(.71
) 2.
82
(.80
) 61
.29
.000
B
e he
alth
y 55
57
80
44
3.
42
(.83
) 2.
95
(.92
) 36
.66
.000
B
e go
od o
r ba
d lo
okin
g 53
51
81
39
3.
44
(.84
) 2.
90
(.87
) 47
.48
.000
N
o. f
rien
ds I
hav
e 5
7 80
43
3.
04
(.32
) 2.
98
(.34
) 5.
17
.023
N
o. d
ates
28
24
82
46
3.
21
(.68
) 2.
93
(.63
) 24
.51
.000
H
ow i
ntel
lige
nt
9 12
89
42
3.
08
(.39
) 2.
98
(.40
) 9.
97
.002
H
ow e
asil
y I
get
wha
t I
wan
t 15
15
93
47
3.
15
(.50
) 2.
98
(.46
) 15
.37
.000
aThe
eig
ht i
tem
s by
sex
Hot
elli
ng's
T 2
= 14
.35,
df
= 8,
504
, p
< .0
0005
. hP
erce
nt o
f th
ose
subj
ects
ind
icat
ing
addi
tion
al f
itne
ss t
hinn
ess
have
an
impa
ct w
ho r
ated
the
im
pact
as
adva
ntag
eous
.
Body Image Satisfaction 369
This was used to give an indication of the proport ion of students within and outside the normal weight range. Below the norm was defined as less than 85%, normal weight as 85-109.9%, over the norm as 110- 119.9%, and very over the norm as 120% or greater. Using these criteria 6.7, 67.5, 12.9, and 12.9% of girls and 4.2, 68.2, 14.5, and 13.1% of boys were found to be under the norm, normal, over the norm, and very over the norm respectively. Table I shows the proport ion of girls and boys in each of these categories who believe themselves to be a good weight or otherwise.
Body dissatisfaction measured on the EDI subscale showed sig- nificantly greater dissatisfaction in girls than boys (mean subscale score for girls = 9.0, SD = 6.54; mean subscale score for boys = 4.21, SD = 4.11; t = 10.2, df = 510.97, p < .0005). The EDI Drive for Thinness sub- scale showed a similar sex difference (mean Drive for Thinness score for girls = 5.54, SD = 5.27; for boys = 1.8, SD = 2.75; t = 10.47, df = 485.00, p < .0005).
In relation to the Body Figure Perception Questionnaire, a sex by dissatisfaction (current figure over, same as, or under ideal) distribution was nonrandom (22 = 87.97, df = 2, p < .00005, n = 513). Girls more often chose an ideal thinner than their current figure (71.4% of girls, 33% of boys), and less often chose an ideal figure equal to their current one (20.5% of girls, 30.1% of boys) or greater than their current figure (8.1% of girls, 36.8% of boys). Forty-nine percent of girls and 7.8% of boys chose an ideal figure at least one figure smaller than their current figure.
The number of subjects stating that additional thinness would have an impact on them varied from item to item (see Table II). On all items, the number of boys and girls stating being thinner would have an impact was similar (22 < 3.4, df = 1, p > .05). However, of the subjects who stated being thinner would have an impact at least 80% of the girls, but less than half the boys, rated the impact as advantageous. A Hotelling's T 2 showed girls' overall means for the 8 items to be significantly different from boys' means (T 2 = 14.35, df = 8, 504, p < .00005) in the direction of girls seeing thinness as more advantageous.
In girls, but not boys, there was a minimal correlation between EDI Body Dissatisfaction scores and age (girls r = .14, p < .02; boys r = .05). The EDI Drive for Thinness subscale scores showed no correlation with age in either girls (r = .04) or boys (r = -.05). When impact of thinness items were summed to produce an Advantages o f Being Thinner (Adv- Thinner) scale, AdvThinner did not correlate with age (girls r = -.01; boys r = .03).
Tab
le I
lL T
he P
erce
ived
Im
pact
of
Bei
ng P
hysi
call
y F
itte
r fo
r G
irls
(F
) an
d B
oys
(M) a
Adv
anta
ges
of f
itne
ss
item
sco
res
% r
epor
ting
%
rep
orti
ng
fitt
er w
ould
fi
tter
wou
ld b
e Se
x di
ffer
ence
s ha
ve i
mpa
ct
adva
ntag
eous
b F
M
on i
tem
sco
res
Item
F
M
F M
X
(S
D)
,~
(SD
) F
valu
e p
Be
happ
y 75
77
99
10
0 3.
98
(.74
) 4.
05
(.72
) .8
2 .3
6 B
e su
cces
sful
47
59
98
98
3.
56
(.68
) 3.
73
(.73
) 6.
45
.01
Be
heal
thy
75
74
99
99
3.95
(.
69)
3.98
(.
66)
.62
.43
Be
good
or
bad
look
ing
43
44
98
100
3.49
(.
64)
3.51
(.
62)
.62
.43
No.
fri
ends
I h
ave
6 10
10
0 10
0 3.
07
(.28
) 3.
13
(.42
) 3.
43
.07
No.
dat
es
14
21
86
100
3.11
(.
48)
3.25
(.
50)
8.26
.0
04
How
int
elli
gent
11
10
91
90
3.
10
(.35
) 3.
09
(.35
) .1
5 .7
0 H
ow e
asil
y I
get
wha
t I
wan
t 13
18
10
0 10
0 3.
14
(.41
) 3.
22
(.52
) 5.
11
.02
aThe
eig
ht i
tem
s by
sex
Hot
elli
ng's
T z
= 3.
31,
df =
8,
504
, p
< .0
01.
bper
cent
of
thos
e su
bjec
ts i
ndic
atin
g ad
diti
onal
fit
ness
wou
ld h
ave
an i
mpa
ct w
ho r
ated
the
im
pact
as
adva
ntag
eous
.
gD
O
Body Image Satisfaction 371
T h e cor re la t ions b e t w e e n actual B M I and E D I Body Dissatisfaction (girls, r = .54, df = 255, p < .001; boys, r = .33, df = 201, p < .001), E D I Drive for Thinness (girls, r = .48, df = 255, p < .001; boys, r = .26, df = 2 0 1 , p < .001), and cur ren t minus ideal scores on body f igures (girls, r = .62, df = 277, p < .001; boys r = .60, df = 201, p < .001) indicate the g rea t e r the B M I the g rea te r the body dissat isfact ion.
Exercise and Fitness
Girls r epor t ed exercising significantly less hours in a week than boys ( m e a n hours exercise for girls = 7.25, SD = 8.14; m e a n hours exercise for boys = 13.85, SD = 12.08; t = 6.97, df = 336.82, p = .000). Repo r t s o f m o r e hours of exercise were re la ted to g rea te r Satisfaction with Fitness scores (girls r = .23, df = 313, p < .0005; boys r = .34, df = 207, p < .0005) and to a smaller extent less E D I Body Dissatisfaction in boys (girls r = -.06, df = 300, p = .29; boys r = -.19, df = 192, p = .009).
As shown in Tab le III , the n u m b e r of subjects ra t ing be ing f i t ter as having an impac t on their lives var ied across i tems. T h e n u m b e r o f boys and girls s tat ing being fi t ter would have an impac t was similar on all i tems except be ing successful where boys m o r e o f ten s ta ted this would be a f fec ted (success, 9~ 2 = 7.1, df = 1, p < .01); n u m b e r of da tes also showed a t endency in this direct ion (zz = 4.87, df = 1, p = .03). N o n e - theless, a Hote l l ing ' s 72 (8 i tems by sex) was significant ( T 2 = 3.31, df = 8, 504, p < .001).
The eight i tems were s u m m e d to p roduce an Advantages of Being Physically Fitter scale (AdvFit ter) . O f the girls, 56% received a higher total score on AdvFi t t e r than on AdvThinner , while 28% had higher relative scores on AdvThinner . T h e girls with higher B M I ' s were m o r e likely to have higher relative scores on AdvThinner ( B M I with A d v T h i n n e r - A d v - Fit ter, r = .37, df = 261, p < ,001). O f the girls with a B M I less than 19, 82% had higher relative scores on AdvFi t t e r as c o m p a r e d to AdvThinner , whereas of the girls with a B M I over 21, only 36% had higher relative scores on AdvFi t ter . H igher scores on AdvFi t t e r re la ted to higher scores on AdvTh inne r a m o n g girls (r = .52, df = 308, p < .001).
O f the boys, 78% rece ived higher scores on A d v F i t t e r than on Adv- T h i n n e r , w i th 9 % r e c e i v i n g h i g h e r r e l a t i v e s c o r e s on A d v T h i n n e r . H i g h e r B M I re l a t ed to h igher relat ive scores on A d v T h i n n e r ( r = .39, df = 208, p < .001). O f the boys with a B M I less than 19, 94% had h igher re la t ive scores on AdvFi t t e r , while o f the boys with a B M I g r e a t e r t han 21, 65% h a d a h igher relat ive score on AdvFi t t e r . A m o n g boys,
372 Paxton et al.
Table IV. The Percentage of Girls and Boys Who Reported Engaging in Different Weight Loss Behaviors Never, Occasionally, (Occ), 1-2 a Week, and Daily a
aSome percentages do not add to 100% due to rounding. Water refers to drinking lots of water.
AdvFi t t e r and A d v T h i n n e r fai led to cor re la te significantly (r = .10, df = 210, p > .05).
Satisfaction with Fitness had a tendency to corre la te with lesser Adv- Fi t ter scores among boys (girls r = -.09, df = 312, p = .11; boys r = -.16, df = 210, p = .02) and with lesser AdvThinner scores (girls r = -.12, df = 308, p = .04; boys r = -.13, df = 209, p = .06). Age was not re la ted to amount of exercise (r = .00) or perceived advantage of physical fitness (r = -.13, df = 212,p = .06) in boys. Older girls, however, exercised slightly less (r = -.15, df = 316, p = .006) and had lesser AdvFi t te r scores (r = -.15, df = 316, p = .006) than younger girls.
Dieting Behavior and Beliefs
Dieting was widely repor ted among girls: 22.9% said they had dieted once, 20.2% two or three times, 11% many times, while 45.8% had never dieted. Diet ing was less of ten repor ted in boys with only 11.4% having dieted once, 1.4% having dieted one or two times, and 2.7% having dieted many times. Older subjects repor ted slightly more dieting than younger ones, al though this did not reach significance (girls r = .13, df = 336, p = .01; boys r = .12, df = 218, p = .07).
Table IV indicates the percentage of subjects who reported engaging in specific weight loss behaviors. Exercise is the most frequently reported measure
Body Image Satisfaction 373
Table V. Beliefs of Boys and Girls Regarding the Helpfulness of Particular Weight Loss Methods
to lose weight in both girls and boys. Unexpectedly, drinking lots of water in order to lose weight, was the next most frequently repor ted method. Smoking cigarettes for purposes of weight loss was reportedly used daily by 4 - 5 % of subjects. Girls repor ted greater use of crash diets (t = -6.02, 488.83,p < .0005), calorie counting (t = 2.96, 520.75, p = .003), meal skipping (t = 4.63, 524.06, p < .0005), drinking water (t = 6.67, 49.43, p < .0005), and not eating between meals (t = 5.74, 487.95, p < .0005) compared to boys.
Fasts , c rash diets, vomit ing, diet pills, laxatives, and fluid tab le t s ( d iu r e t i c s ) w e r e c o n s i d e r e d e x t r e m e we igh t loss m e t h o d s . C i g a r e t t e smoking , a l though poten t ia l ly very harmfu l , was o m i t t e d since it has not prev ious ly b e e n cons ide red clinically s ignif icant in ea t ing d i s tu rbances , w h e r e a s the o t h e r m e t h o d s have been. O f the e x t r e m e m e t h o d s , fas t ing and crash die t ing were the mos t f r equen t ly used. A t leas t one e x t r e m e weight loss b e h a v i o r was r epor t ed ly used a t least occas iona l ly by 47 .9% of the girls and 26% of the boys, and used at least week ly by 13.2% of girls and 8 .8% of boys. Ve ry few subjects r e p o r t e d using m o r e t han one of these m e t h o d s week ly (3 .5% of girls and 1.5% of boys) . W h e n the r e p o r t e d f r equenc ie s o f usage of the six ex t r eme m e t h o d s was s u m m e d to ref lect to ta l e x t r e m e weight loss behav iors , girls r ece ived s ignif icant ly h igher scores than boys (t = 3.87, df = 517.90, p < .0005). A g e was not co r r e l a t ed with r e p o r t e d usage of e x t r e m e weight loss m e t h o d s (girls r = .10, df = 317, p = .08; boys r = .02, df = 202). H o w e v e r , girls in
374 Paxton et al.
higher school years reported greater use of cigarettes for weight loss (girls ~2 = 44.29, df = 12, p < .00005; boys 22 = 16.49, df = 16, p = .42).
As indicated in Table V, when subjects were asked to rate the helpful- ness of particular methods to lose weight and keep it off, exercise, followed by drinking lots of water and counting calories, were considered the most help- ful. Of the extreme weight loss methods, fasting and diet pills were viewed as most helpful.
Environmental Influences on Dieting
Only 6% of girls and 4.2% of boys responded positively to the question "Do your friends encourage you to diet?" and these adolescents had higher BMIs than others (girls mean BMIs 24.46 vs. 20.63; t = 4.12, df = 278, p < .0005; boys means 25.3 vs. 20.61; t = 4.6, df = 213, p < .0005). However, 19% of girls and 12% of boys reported encouragement to diet by parents. These subjects had greater actual BMIs than others (girls means 23.84 vs. 20.32, t = 5.44, df = 54.48, p < .0005; boys means 24.54 vs. 20.34, t = 5.46, df = 26.4,p < .0005). These subjects (especially girls) also reported more frequent dieting (girls t = 7.26, df = 331, p < .0005; boys t = 2.79, df = 26.25, p = .01). The relationship between parental encouragement and frequency of dieting held for girls but not boys when BMI had been accounted for (analysis of covariance, girls, F = 12.5, df = 2,275, p < .0005; boys, F = 3.85, df = 2,212, p = .05).
About half the subjects reported that at least one of their parents dieted (46% of girls, 52% of boys). Those girls who reported a parent dieting, dieted more frequently themselves (t = 2.79, df = 334, p = .006); however, this was not the case for boys (t = .16, df = 215, p = .87). This relationship remained minimally for girls when BMI was accounted for [analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), F = 4.1, df = 2,276, p = .04]. Those parents who reportedly dieted were not necessarily the same parents who encouraged their children to diet (girls, ~2 = 2.3, df = 1, p = .12; boys, Z 2 = .08, df = 1, p = .78).
When subjects were asked their most important source of informa- tion on diet and health, girls most often stated magazines (40.6%) fol- lowed by parents (29.2%), school (14.0%), television (12.6%), and friends (3.6%). Boys reported parents (34.2%) being the primary source followed by television (29.9%), school (24.4%), magazines (9.5%), and friends (2.0%).
Body Image Satisfaction 375
DISCUSSION
This study found body dissatisfaction to be considerable in adoles- cents, especially among girls. Fewer girls than boys thought they were a good weight and girls had higher scores than boys on all body dissatisfaction measures. The actual level of body dissatisfaction, however, did vary ac- cording to the measurement strategy used, being greater on the Figure Per- ception Questionnaire than when asked whether they were a good weight. Half our girls were generally satisfied with their weight, but many of these would prefer to be thinner. Dissatisfaction found in our Australian sample appears to be somewhat lower than U.S. samples, with the exception of Cohn et al. (1987). In Cohn et al., however, the sample contained a rela- tively high number of prepubertal girls who may be more satisfied with their bodies. Consistent with indications from earlier studies (Cohn et al., 1987; Eisele et at, 1986) there was a minimal correlation between EDI Body Dissatisfaction and age in girls, although there was no such age effect in other measures of body dissatisfaction nor in boys. In many girls negative attitudes and beliefs related to ideal body size seem to be established before high school years and probably remain constant. Using a cross-sectional design, however, the extent of fluctuation within students across time is unclear. These data highlight the importance of exploring the development of body image dissatisfaction in preadolescent years.
Two thirds of girls and only slightly fewer boys thought being thinner would affect their happiness. For girls the change was generally anticipated to be positive, while for boys, disadvantageous. Thinness was seen by sub- jects as having most impact on health and how good-looking they would be, and least impact on how many friends they would have, how intelligent people would think they were, or how easily they would get what they wanted. Furthermore, whereas the girls who saw greater advantages in being thinner also saw advantages in being fitter, this was not the case for boys. This suggests that girls see thinness and fitness as related whereas boys see them as independent. Contrary to thinner girls, girls above the normal weight range were likely to see more advantages in thinness than fitness. An important goal in prevention programs may be to highlight the advantages of fitness to the heavier girls.
Our data indicate a strong relationship between real BMI and body dissatisfaction in both males and females. Using BMI criteria (as described earlier), our results indicate that 27% of girls who actually fell within the normal weight range classified themselves as overweight or very overweight, and the girls who could be classified as over or very over the norm usually classified themselves as overweight. A similar percentage (28%) of boys could be classified as over or very over the norm. They were less likely,
376 Paxton et al.
however, to categorize themselves as overweight. Part of this difference be- tween girls and boys may be due to a greater number of boys having higher BMIs due to muscular development rather than high fat levels (Garrow, 1981). It also suggests a stronger tendency in boys to be less critical of their body size. Further, this result in conjunction with the finding that about half the boys believed that losing weight would be detrimental sug- gests that bigness, though not necessarily fatness, is regarded as a positive feature in boys.
In this study the frequency of girls above the normal BMI range is consistent with previous findings in Australian students (e.g., Court et al., 1976). The level of obesity for boys in the present study is substantially higher than the 15.5% reported by Court et al. Our findings are consistent, however, with recent data from the National Heart Foundation (1983) who found a higher incidence of obesity in males (30%) than females (22%) by the midtwenties and that obesity in Australian males appears to be in-
creasing. Dwyer (1988) also found about a third of both girls and boys to be overweight. Implications for the future health status of these adolescents are still unclear (Polivy and Herman, 1983).
Self-estimates of height and weight were quite accurate, especially for boys. Where girls were inaccurate, they tended to underestimate. This may relate to the speed at which adolescents grow. The results are reassuring from a methodological point of view as they indicate that self-reports of height and weight are on the whole reliable, although they might lead to large amounts of missing data. The explanation of the substantial refusal rate is unclear; it may reflect genuine lack of knowledge or alternatively self-consciousness in weight-related matters.
Dieting behavior was widely reported by girls, with the most frequent- ly reported weight loss measure being exercise, which was widely believed to "help a lot." Regardless of its accuracy, such a belief is likely to lead to behavior that is health promoting if it is not taken to extremes. The high frequency of drinking lots of water was unexpected but consistent with over 75% of subjects believing it helped in weight loss. Beliefs about water are probably coming from diet articles in teen magazines. Like exercise, the behavior is only likely to be problematic if taken to extremes. Skipping meals and counting calories were believed to help a lot or a little by a sizeable proportion of subjects and reportedly used frequently by girls. A worrying aspect of these data is that about 15% of subjects believe that smoking helps in weight loss, and 10% and 8% of girls and boys respectively reported smoking at least occasionally to lose weight. This is of particular concern since the metabolic effects of stopping smoking very often lead to weight gain that, in the weight conscious girls is likely to act as a deterrent to quitting cigarettes.
Body Image Satisfaction 377
A relatively small, but concerning, level of female students use weight loss behaviors typically associated with eating disorders (e.g., vomiting). Thirteen percent of females reported at least one extreme weight loss be- havior weekly or more frequently. These rates generally appear to be quite similar to comparable U.S. samples with the exception of diet pills where intake appears to be lower in the Australian sample (e.g., Crowther et al., 1985; Rosen and Gross, 1987). It appears therefore, that U.S. findings re- lated to dieting and eating behavior are broadly generalizable to Australian samples.
It is reassuring that 75% of girls do not believe vomiting is an effective weight loss method, although about one-third of girls believed the other extreme weight loss behaviors to be at least a little helpful. It is unclear whether adolescents are aware of the negative side effects of the more ex- treme weight loss measures or whether this knowledge affects usage. There was no relationship between dieting behaviors and age.
Diet behaviors were related more to parental encouragement to lose weight than to the encouragement of friends. This suggests that prevention programs need to educate parents about dieting and its effects. Although peers do not directly encourage each other to diet, mutual role modeling and competition may play an indirect role in encouraging girls to diet. The major sources of information about diets and health for girls were reported to be magazines, which also could be important targets for prevention work. Schools do not appear to be as important an influence as they could be in teaching about diet and health.
The exercise and fitness variables appear more important in how boys view themselves than girls. Higher exercise levels were related to higher body satisfaction in boys though not girls and boys were more satisfied with their fitness levels. Of particular concern is the large discrepancy in reported hours of exercise per week between girls and boys, which appears well entrenched by the adolescent period. This may reflect less social sup- port for girls' physical activity or possibly biological differences (Lerner et al., 1976). Whatever the reason, as growing evidence suggests that moderate levels of exercise are physically beneficial, this sex difference needs to be addressed.
In conclusion, this study supports the applicability of U.S. research cross-culturally. It also highlights the need for further intervention work to increase body satisfaction and decrease unhealthy weight loss behaviors in adolescents, particularly girls.
378 Paxton et al.
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