ResearchOriginal ResearchDieting and Disordered Eating Behaviors from Adolescence to Young Adulthood: Findings from a 10-Year Longitudinal Study
Section snippets
Study Design and Population
Project EAT-III (Eating and Activity in Teens and Young Adults) is a 10-year longitudinal study aimed at examining eating, activity, and weight-related variables among young people. The sample for our study included 1,030 young men and 1,257 young women. One third of participants (29.9%) were in the younger cohort; at baseline they were in early adolescence (mean age 12.8±0.7 years), and at 10-year follow-up they were in early young adulthood (mean age 23.2±1.0 years). Two thirds of
Prevalence of Dieting and Disordered Eating: Adolescence to Young Adulthood
About half of girls reported dieting in the past year as compared to about a fourth of the boys. Among both age cohorts of girls, the prevalence of dieting remained fairly constant from adolescence through young adulthood (Figure 1). Among boys, the prevalence of dieting stayed constant over time in the younger age cohort, but significantly increased in the older cohort as participants progressed from middle adolescence to middle young adulthood (21.9% to 27.9%, P<0.001).
In younger girls, the
Discussion
This study found that, in general, the prevalence of dieting and disordered eating behaviors was high and either remained constant or increased from adolescence to young adulthood. Of particular concern was the large increase in extreme weight control behaviors among youth transitioning from adolescence to young adulthood. Diet pill use more than tripled in most of the age and sex groups during the 10-year study period. Of concern, one fifth of female young adults reported the use of extreme
Conclusions
The ineffectiveness of dieting for weight gain prevention during adolescence (4, 5, 6, 7, 8), the harmful consequences associated with disordered eating behaviors (19, 34, 35, 36, 37), and the high prevalence of these behaviors during adolescence (21, 38, 39, 40) have been shown in previous studies. This study adds to this concerning body of literature by demonstrating that the high prevalence of these behaviors continues from adolescence through young adulthood. Furthermore, individuals who
D. Neumark-Sztainer, is a professor, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
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D. Neumark-Sztainer, is a professor, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
N. I. Larson is a research associate, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
K. Loth is a research assistant, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
M. E. Eisenberg is an assistant professor of pediatrics and adolescent health, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
M. Wall is a professor of biostatistics in psychiatry, Departments of Biostatistics and Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY; at the time of the study, she was a professor, Division of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
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