[C@F4ca49

Diet articles could fuel eating disorders

CHICAGO Magazine headlines entice teenage girls with promises: “Get the body you want” and “Hit your dream weight now!” But a new study suggests reading articles about diet and weight loss could have unhealthy consequences .

Teenage girls who frequently read magazine articles about dieting were more likely five years later to practice extreme weight-loss measures such as vomiting than girls who never read such articles, the University of Minnesota study found.

It didn’t seem to matter whether the girls were over-weight when they started reading about weight loss, nor whether they considered their weight important.

Middle school girls who read dieting articles were twice as likely five years later to try to lose weight by fasting or smoking cigarettes, compared to girls who never read such articles. They were three times more likely to use measures such as vomiting or laxatives, said the study, which appeared in January’s issue of the journal Pediatrics. Associated Press

(c) 2007 Virginian – Pilot. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.