Researchers link extreme dieting behaviors with higher risk for substance use and suicide attempts

Teenagers who use extreme methods like diet pills or vomiting to control their weight are also more likely to smoke, drink alcohol, use marijuana, and attempt suicide, according to an article in the January/February issue of the American Journal of Health Behavior. The American study evaluated data from over 4,000 teenagers that had been collected in 1999 for a major risk behavior survey.

The teenagers who met the criteria for extreme dieting made up 19.2 percent of the 4,187 girls and boys in the survey database. An additional 43.2 percent were moderate dieters, defined as youth who ate less and exercised more to control their weight. Researchers found that moderate dieters were less likely to report that they had smoked cigarettes or used marijuana than the extreme dieters.

Although there were some notable differences in dieting methods between genders and among different ethnic groups and races, the authors noted that the "high prevalence rates of extreme weight-control methods across all gender-race categories are a concern."

Because previous studies had suggested that dieting may be "part of a constellation of unhealthy problem behaviors in adolescents," the researchers developed the current study to assess whether all dieting methods, or just extreme ones, were associated with risky behaviors such as smoking or drinking, or negative outcomes such as suicide attempts.

Although rates of drug and alcohol use, smoking and suicide were higher among extreme dieters, their risky behaviors did not extend to all categories, according to the researchers. For example, extreme dieters did not have more unprotected sex more frequently than moderate dieters or non-dieters.

The highest rates of extreme and moderate dieting were found among white girls in the study, but the researchers cautioned that boys should not be ignored in weight-control and risk behavior studies.

"Men are increasingly becoming dissatisfied with their body image," Rafiroiu said.



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