Go to top of page What does research tell us about children with respect to eating behaviors or eating disorders?
• Expectations regarding thinness among females are evident as early as 6 and 7 years old. (11) • In a study of 252 fourth graders, 37% reported that they had dieted to lose weight during the past year. (6) • In another study, girls were tested for eating attitudes and dieting at ages 5, 7, and 9. Girls who reported high body size and shape concerns across ages 5-7 were more likely than girls without such concerns to restrict their food intake at age 9, and these associations were independent of what the girls actually weighed. (10) • Girls who present with eating disorders before they have begun to menstruate may have a long history of poor weight gain and slowed growth prior to the onset of weight loss.
Related Questions
- Go to top of page What does research tell us about children with respect to eating behaviors or eating disorders?
- Go to top of page Are there any statistics on adolescents with respect to eating behaviors or eating disorders?
- Are there any statistics on children with respect to eating behaviors or eating disorders?
