Researchers at the University of Minnesota have been spending years looking at diet and weight control habits among adolescents and young adults. Project EAT, as it is called, has produced a lot of interesting and some concerning results.
People have long complained about their bathroom scales at home being evil or just plain wrong, in reference to not being happy with their weight. In some ways, it is similar to having your blood pressure checked at your doctor’s appointment (where it will of course be higher than normal because you are stressed about various aspects of your doctor’s appointment).
Well now there are numbers behind the sentiment that the scale might be doing more harm than good. Researchers noted that young women who weighed themselves more often than the control group reported lower satisfaction with their body images and personal health, associated with increased rates of depression.
More research in this area will shine more light on exactly what factors are leading to what outcomes, but the correlations alone are interesting. Some other interesting results include that only 37% of participants regularly eat breakfast (as opposed to skipping it) and 50% of female participants made use of unhealthy weight-loss methods including skipping meals, smoking, and using diet pills.
You can see many more results here but here’s a bottom-line message: healthy habits (or unhealthy ones) are established early in life and depend on a lot on factors like social influences (e.g. bullying and teasing) and one’s own satisfaction with their body. Researchers continue to gather information in this field in order to determine patterns and trends and hopefully develop successful ways to address these concerns.