Waterloo: Teenage girls who diet are more likely to engage in other
health-compromising behaviours, including smoking, binge drinking, and
skipping breakfast, a University of Waterloo study recently found. The
study found that, compared to girls who were not dieting at the time of
initial data collection, those who were dieting were more likely to
engage in one or more clusters of other risky behaviours three years
later.
“It might seem natural for there to be a
connection between dieting and behaviours such as smoking and skipping
meals, but the explanation is not so clear for something like binge
drinking,” said Amanda Raffoul, who led the study and is now a PhD
candidate in Public Health and Health Systems. “Our findings suggest
that dieting and other risky health behaviours may be related to common
underlying factors, such as poor body image.
“The
link between dieting and other health-compromising behaviours is
worrisome since 70 percent of girls reported dieting at some point over
the three years”, Raffoul added. “Post-puberty changes often lead to
weight gain among girls and there is incredible pressure from social
media and elsewhere to obtain and maintain the ideal body.”
The
study found dieters were 1.6 times more likely to smoke and skip
breakfast, and 1.5 times more likely to smoke and engage in binge
drinking.
“Intentional weight loss is not something
we should necessarily encourage, especially among this population, since
it’s possible that well-meaning initiatives that promote dieting may be
doing more harm than good,” Raffoul added. “Instead, we should focus on
health broadly rather than weight as an indicator of health.”
The
researchers examined data from more than 3,300 high school girls in
Ontario who participated in a longitudinal school-based study called
COMPASS.
“This study points to the importance of
looking at factors related to health, including behaviours and the array
of influences on them, in combination,” said Sharon Kirkpatrick, a
professor in the School of Public Health and Health Systems and
co-author on the study, “Only by understanding the complex ways in which
these factors interact can we identify effective interventions, as well
as predict and monitor potential unintended effects of such
interventions.”
The study was published in the
Canadian Journal of Public Health, and was co-authored by Raffoul,
Kirkpatrick, and Public Health and Health Systems professor Scott
Leatherdale, who leads COMPASS. The COMPASS study, which started in
2012, was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.