Premium
Vegetarianism in young women: Another means of weight control?
Author(s) -
Gilbody Simon M.,
Kirk Sara F. L.,
Hill Andrew J.
Publication year - 1999
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(199907)26:1<87::aid-eat11>3.0.co;2-m
Subject(s) - dieting , psychology , weight control , weight loss , young adult , eating disorders , developmental psychology , eating behavior , body weight , clinical psychology , obesity , medicine , endocrinology
Objective To investigate the links between vegetarianism (meat avoidance) and weight control in young women. Methods Self‐reported food habits (indicating meat avoidance and weight loss dieting) and dietary restraint (using the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire [DEBQ]) were collected from 131 young adult women. Restraint scores and weight loss behavior were compared between vegetarians and nonvegetarians. In addition, reasons for meat avoidance were identified in the vegetarian subjects. Results Vegetarianism, broadly defined, was reported by 34.3% of participants. Vegetarians had significantly higher dietary restraint, but did not differ in current dieting. Discussion The relationship between vegetarianism and weight control is complex. Vegetarianism may be best seen as a method for complicating the normalization of eating rather than a simple risk factor for eating disorders. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 26: 87–90, 1999.