Elsevier

The Journal of Pediatrics

Volume 138, Issue 2, February 2001, Pages 181-187
The Journal of Pediatrics

Original Articles
Overweight concerns and body dissatisfaction among third-grade children: The impacts of ethnicity and socioeconomic status,☆☆

https://doi.org/10.1067/mpd.2001.110526Get rights and content

Abstract

Objective: To examine the prevalence of overweight concerns and body dissatisfaction among third-grade girls and boys and the influences of ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES). Study Design: Nine hundred sixty-nine children (mean age, 8.5 years) attending 13 northern California public elementary schools completed assessments of overweight concerns, body dissatisfaction, and desired shape, height, and weight. Results: The sample was 44% white, 21% Latino, 19% non-Filipino Asian American, 8% Filipino, and 5% African American. Twenty-six percent of boys and 35% of girls reported wanting to lose weight, and 17% of boys and 24% of girls reported dieting to lose weight. Among girls, Latinas and African Americans reported significantly more overweight concerns than Asian Americans and Filipinas, and Latinas reported significantly more overweight concerns than whites. White and Latina girls also reported greater body dissatisfaction than Asian American girls. Some differences persisted even after controlling for actual body fatness. Higher SES African American girls reported significantly more overweight concerns than lower SES African American girls, but higher SES white girls reported less overweight concerns than lower SES white girls. Conclusion: Overweight concerns and body dissatisfaction are highly prevalent among third-grade girls and boys, across ethnicity and SES. Young Latina and African American girls manifest equivalent or higher levels of disordered eating attitudes and behaviors as white and Asian American girls. (J Pediatr 2001;138:181-7)

Section snippets

Subjects and Methods

All third-grade children in 13 northern California public elementary schools were eligible to participate in a study of health behaviors. Parents were informed of the study by mail and given an opportunity to refuse participation for their children. Children were allowed to decline participation at any time during data collection. Trained data collectors administered surveys and performed anthropometric measures at schools. Trained interviewers made phone calls to parents or guardians during

Results

Of 999 third-grade children enrolled in the 13 schools, 969 (97.0%) participated in the study. Parents refused participation for 29 children, and one child was absent throughout. Participants and non-participants did not differ in age or sex. For analysis, we excluded one randomly chosen sibling from 12 pairs, and 62 children classified as requiring special education or having limited English proficiency did not complete self-report surveys, resulting in an analysis sample of 895 children.

Discussion

This study indicates that Hispanic and African American girls are not immune to the cultural emphasis on extreme thinness. Latina and African American third-grade girls reported greater or equivalent levels of dysfunctional eating attitudes and behaviors in comparison with white girls, even after controlling for actual body fatness and SES. Our findings suggest that body dissatisfaction and overweight concerns are prevalent across sex, ethnicity, and socioeconomic class. Traditional “protective

Acknowledgements

We thank Sarah J. Erickson, PhD, Christina Russell, Kathy Valenzuela, Mireya Samaniego, Dina L. G. Borzekowski, EdD, Sally McCarthy, Connie Watanabe, MA, Ann Varady, MS, and Helena C. Kraemer, PhD, for their contributions to this study. We also thank the students, parents, teachers, and administrators who participated in this project.

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    Supported by a grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health (R01 HL54102), and the Halter Fund of the Stanford Medical Scholars Program (Ms Chang).

    ☆☆

    Reprint requests: Thomas N. Robinson, MD, MPH, Department of Pediatrics and Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention, Stanford University School of Medicine, 1000 Welch Rd, Palo Alto, CA 94304.

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