Changes in Restrained Eating in an Adolescent Population: A Longitudinal Study

OBJECTIVES: This study examined changed in restrained eating (RE) over time as a function of race, gender, and body mass index (BMI). Participants were 7th grade students (N = 1,533; mean age = 13 years) from the first six years of the Memphis Health Project, a 10 - year longitudinal study of smoking onset and other health related behaviors. METHODS: A mixed repeated measures model with an Auto regressive moving average (1,1) variance covariance matrix was used to examine changes in RE scores over time as a function of race, gender, and BMI. RESULTS: RE scores significantly decreased over time in adolescents. Adolescent females reported more RE than adolescent males at all time points. Among African American and Caucasian females, obese teens scored significantly higher on RE than underweight and normal weight adolescents. CONCULSION: RE changes over time as a function of several variables examined. Findings of this study, if utilized to develop prevention and intervention programs focused on body satisfaction, body image, and other associated constructs of RE, may help substantially heighten societal awareness of external cues that directly and negatively impact adolescent\u27s eating behaviors and awareness of their bodies. Similarly, as pervious literature has posited, these findings could be of value in helping to create and iinitiate programs to increase adolescent\u27s self-esteem, confidence, and acceptance of themselves (Brown, 2010; Richardson & Paxton, 2010)