Dieting behavior and eating attitudes in israeli children

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Abstract
Using an Israeli school‐age group, this study replicates and extends the age group of Maloney et al.'s (Pediatrics, 84, 482–489, 1989) study of American schoolchildren's abnormal eating attitudes and behaviors. Maloney's Children's Eating Attitudes Test (ChEAT) and a Demographic and Dieting Questionnaire (DDQ) were given to 186 students from Grades 3 to 6 and to 290 students from Grades 7 to 11. In Grades 3–11, 54% of students expressed a desire to lose weight and 41.6% showed behaviors aimed toward losing weight. These attitudes and behaviors were already evident in Grades 3–6. Of this group, 8.8% had ChEAT scores ≥20 (a possible at‐risk indicator of anorexia), similar to the findings of Maloney et al. Marked gender differences in the at‐risk index emerged in Grades 7–11: girls, 16.3%; boys, 1.5%. Starting at Grade 8, an exacerbation was noted in girls', in contrast to boys', preoccupation with thinness and weight‐losing behaviors. DDQ items were found to identify at‐risk groups in Grades 5–7 and 8–11. Issues were raised concerning cross‐cultural studies and strategies for timing preventative interventions. © 1995 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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