Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Multicenter Study
. 2016 May 31;8(2):e1-4.
doi: 10.4102/phcfm.v8i2.952.

Factors influencing weight control practices amongst the adolescent girls in Vhembe District of Limpopo Province, South Africa

Rose A Tshililo  1 , Lizzy M Netshikweta, Grace T Tshitangano, Hilda L Nemathaga
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Factors influencing weight control practices amongst the adolescent girls in Vhembe District of Limpopo Province, South Africa

Rose A Tshililo et al. Afr J Prim Health Care Fam Med. .

Abstract

Background: The incidence of overweight is increasing amongst adolescents in many countries around the world. Healthy and unhealthy weight control practices are common amongst overweight and non-overweight adolescents.

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore factors influencing weight control practices amongst adolescent girls.

Setting: The study was conducted at selected secondary schools of Vhembe District of Limpopo Province, South Africa.

Methods: A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual design was used. Nonprobability, purposive sampling was used to select adolescents who are practicing weight control. In-depth interviews were conducted with 30 participants. Data were analysed according to Tesch's open-coding method.

Results: This study revealed that adolescent girls are influenced by a variety of factors to control their weights. These included individual factors, such as body image dissatisfaction; family factors, caused by parental criticism about adolescent weight; and environmental factors, which contain peer group endorsement of dieting.

Conclusion: Adolescents are exposed to many unhealthy weight control practices, as a way of controlling excess weight. So it is of importance for healthcare providers to make them aware of healthy practices.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Polit DF, Beck CT. Essentials of nursing research: Methods, appraisal, and utilization. 6th ed Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams &Wilkins; 2006.
    1. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Childhood overweight and obesity [homepage on the Internet]. Centres for Disease Control; 2010. [cited 2002 Apr 2]. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/index.html
    1. Liou YM, Hsu Y, Ho J, Lin C, Hsu W, Liou T. Prevalence and correlates of self-induced vomiting as weight-control strategy among adolescents in Taiwan. J Clin Nurs. 2011;21:11–20. - PubMed
    1. Cresswell JW. Research design: A qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches. 3rd ed London: Sage Publication Ltd; 2009.
    1. Wang ML, Peterson KE, Richmond TK, et al. Family physical activity and meal practices associated with disordered weight control behaviors in a multiethnic sample of middle-school youth. Acad Pediatr. 2013;13(4):379–385. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources