Prevalence of Weight Control Behaviors among Adolescent Girls

Dieting or weight control behaviors have become increasingly widespread among adolescents, particularly adolescent girls. Girls may engage in a range of weight control behaviors, from healthy, such as exercising and eating more fruit and vegetables, to unhealthy and extreme strategies including fasting, skipping meals, and taking diet pills. The purpose of this study was to systematically review existing literatures on the prevalence of weight control behaviors among adolescent girls in Western and non-Western countries. Studies were identified through a systematic search using PsycINFO, Google Scholar and secondary references. Thirty studies published between 1983 and 2016 in 10 countries were identified and divided into 3 groups of years, i.e. 1980-1999, 2000-2009 and 2010- 016. The findings across the three groups showed that: (a) the prevalence of weight control behaviors among adolescent girls was associated with weight status and weight perception; (b) exercising was the most frequently reported healthy strategy; (c) skipping meals, fasting, selfinduced vomiting, taking diet pills and using laxatives were the frequently reported unhealthy and extreme weight control behaviors. Implications for future research include conducting more studies on weight control behaviors among adolescents in different countries for designing prevention and intervention programs to combat the negative consequences of unhealthy and extreme behaviors.