Teenage girls more likely to diet if their mothers fret about weight
According to a recent survey commissioned by teen magazine Sugar, teenagers are twice as likely to diet if their mother worries about her own weight.
The poll of 2,500 13 – 19 year old girls revealed that comments from parents, attitudes of friends and media images of size zero celebrities have pushed 15 per cent of teenage girls to diet on a regular basis.
In addition to this, the poll revealed that this figure increased to more than double (35 per cent) for teenagers whose mothers worry about their own weight and are constantly trying out a new diet and calorie counting.
93 per cent of the teenage girls surveyed admitted to worrying about their weight with more than half saying their families commented on what they ate and a quarter saying they have friends with eating disorders.
Experts have warned that an obsessive concern about weight from an early age can raise the risk of developing an eating disorder such as anorexia and additionally extreme weight loss can interfere with puberty.
Tam Fry, of the Child Growth Foundation, believes it is inappropriate for children to diet and parents should be conscious of drawing as little attention to weight as possible.
‘Girls put on weight because of the biological consequences of puberty. But they should let nature take its course because 99 per cent will slim down in the end.’ He said.
If you are concerned that you or someone you know are suffering from an eating disorder and would like to find out more information then please visit our fact-sheet here. Alternatively if you would like to contact a counsellor in confidence then you can use the search tool located on the homepage to locate a qualified professional in your local area.
Original article