Survey the Eating Habits Pattern and its relation with body image perceptions in Adolescent Girls Students

Adolescence is the most important period in the formation of dietary habits and patterns Adolescence is a transitional stage and many changes take place at physiological and behavioural levels. Among adolescents, the prevalence of overweight and obesity has risen greatly worldwide Methods A cross-sectional survey (n = 300; 11–15 years old) was carried out in the shahrekord, Iran. Body image , Anthropometry, socio-economic determinants, and food consumption were studied. Results 49 percent of girl students that wished to be thinner had less than or equal to 3 eating occasions per day. Overfat girls that wish to be thinner skipped breakfast more frequently than normal-fat girls. Overfat girls that wished a thinner body reported lower consumption of several food groups than normal-fat adolescents .The results after adjustment by age, parental educational level, parental socio-economic status, breakfast habit, number of daily meals and snacks showed that overfat that wished to be thinner were less likely to frequently eat red meat, pasta and rice and other oils and fats than their satisfied and normal-fat counterparts Conclusions Meal patterns and food consumption were associated with body dissatisfaction and overfat status among adolescents. Message for policymakers: promotion of a healthy body image should be integrated across all interventions aimed to address obesity, eating disorders, and other health-related concerns among adolescents

Keywords:

BMI , Body image , Adolescents , Eating patterns