Correlates of persistent thinness in black and white young women

Objective: To examine health and psychosocial correlates of persistent thinness in black and white young adult women. Research Methods and Procedures: 1830 females (n = 988 black, n = 842 white) who participated in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study were asked to indicate their current body size from a series of nine pictograms (1, emaciated to 9, obese). Persistent thinness was defined as having at least seven non-missing measurement points between ages 9 to 18 with a body size rating of