Dieting Behaviors, Weight Perceptions, and Life Satisfaction Among Public High School Adolescents

Relationships among perceived life satisfaction, perceptions of body weight, and dieting behaviors were examined in a statewide cross-sectional study of public high school adolescents in South Carolina (N = 5,032). The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Youth Risk Behavior Survey and the Brief Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale were utilized for this study. Adjusted logistic regression analyses and multivariate models constructed separately (via SUDAAN), revealed that perceptions of overweight, perceptions of underweight, having dieted to lose weight, having vomited or used laxatives to lose weight, and taking diet pills were significantly related (p < .05) to reduced life satisfaction for adolescents. Differences in dieting behavior and perceptions of weight were demonstrated across gender and race. Measures of life satisfaction as a component of comprehensive assessments of adolescent weight management and healthy eating behaviors in clinic, fieldwork, research, and program-evaluation efforts should be considered.