Attitudes of adolescents to their body build and the problem of juvenile obesity

Abstract

Prevalence of obesity, attitude to body weight and dimensions, eating habits, opinions on good nutrition and on the causes and prevention of obesity were studied in two groups of Israeli children, each comprising about 500 boys and girls, 13--14 years old. Mean relative weight was close to median weight for height, although 9 per cent of both boys and girls weighed more than 120 per cent of median weight. Weight was closely related to triceps skinfold thickness. Twenty-six per cent of the boys and 15 per cent of the girls rated themselves as thin, 61 per cent of children of both sexes as medium, and 13 per cent of the boys and 25 per cent of the girls as obese. Self-perception of body build was more closely related to weight than to skinfold thickness. Two-thirds of the boys and over one-half of the girls were satisfied with their weight, but dissatisfaction with size and shape was often expressed. Boys wished to have larger muscles and chest circumference and many girls, even when not obese, wanted to be smaller in size and shape. Most of the obese children wanted to lose weight. Of 499 children examined, 16 boys (7 per cent of the sample) and 58 (21 per cent) girls reported for dietary therapy. While most of these children were obese, by either subjective or objective criteria, an appreciable number of nonobese children were also dieting. The children's own perception of their body build seemed to be a strong motivation to diet for weight control. Most of the dieters did not receive any dietary advice from professional people. Over two-thirds of both boys and girls believed that daily consumption of milk, bread, fruits, eggs, cheese, meat, and tomatoes is desirable. More overweight than thin and normal-weight children indicated that, to prevent obesity, all kinds of food are permissible, but only in limited amounts. Most children believed in the fattening value of cakes, sweets, fried and fatty foods, potatoes, bread and nuts. Overweight children, particularly girls, reported eating less bread, cake and cream, adding less sugar to beverages, and eating sweets and ice cream less frequently than thin and normal-weight children. Overweight teen-agers appear to be more conscious of their food intake than under- and normal-weight children.