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Eating disturbances in white and minority female dieters
Author(s) -
le Grange Daniel,
Stone Arthur A.,
Brownell Kelly D.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
international journal of eating disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1098-108X
pISSN - 0276-3478
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-108x(199812)24:4<395::aid-eat6>3.0.co;2-a
Subject(s) - psychology , overweight , ethnic group , body mass index , binge eating , demography , generalizability theory , marital status , disordered eating , weight loss , gerontology , obesity , cross sectional study , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , medicine , eating disorders , population , pathology , sociology , anthropology
Objective This study examined disordered eating, attitudes about weight and appearance, self‐esteem, weight loss, and reasons for weight regain in a sample of white, black, Asian, and Hispanic female dieters. Method In this cross‐sectional descriptive study, we scrutinized survey responses of a large number of households subscribing to Consumer Reports magazine. Females ( N = 9,971) between 21 and 65 years old ( M = 42.9, SD =10.4) with a mean body mass index (BMI) of 27.2 ( SD = 6.2) were selected for comparisons. Results Ethnic groups were different in terms of age, BMI, household income, and marital status. Therefore, these variables were used as covariates in the analyses. More black women were overweight and purged compared to the other groups. Asian women valued the beneficial role of exercise in weight control more, while black women were more inclined to attribute weight gain to cravings and slow metabolism. The groups did not differ in terms of binge eating, attitudes about weight and appearance, self‐esteem, the number of attempts to lose weight, and the reasons for their failures. Conclusions This study suggests that unhealthy eating attitudes and practices may be similar for women who diet, irrespective of ethnic background. However, the generalizability of these findings is limited by the inherent sampling bias. © 1998 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 24: 395–403, 1998.