Dieting Among Adolescent Females in Iceland: Is Dieting Among Adolescent Females in Iceland Associated With Mental Health, Physical Health, Depression, Body Image and Body Mass Index?

The goal of this study was to find out how common dieting is among high school females in Iceland and examine the relationship between dieting and mental health, physical health, depression, body image and body mass index. Available data from ICSRA were used to make this study. Participants were a s...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Annika Vignisdóttir 1988-
Other Authors: Háskólinn í Reykjavík
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1946/12708
Description
Summary:The goal of this study was to find out how common dieting is among high school females in Iceland and examine the relationship between dieting and mental health, physical health, depression, body image and body mass index. Available data from ICSRA were used to make this study. Participants were a sample of a big study that was submitted in the fall 2007, in all high schools in Iceland. Participants were 905 in total, 16-19 years of age. Results showed that over half of the females had been on diet during the last 12 months. Dieting was significantly associative with deteriorating mental and physical health, depression, negative body image and higher BMI. The results also indicated that females who had BMI 25 or higher where more likely to diet, than girls who had BMI lower than 25. The purpose of the study was to design a basis for further researches to be able to design appropriate intervention for dieting if needed. Current study is the most extensive research that has been done in Iceland on dieting among high school students. Markmið rannsóknarinnar var að kanna tíðni megrunar ásamt því að kanna hvort samband væri á milli megrunar og andlegrar heilsu, líkamlegrar heilsu, þunglyndis, líkamsímyndar og líkamsþyngdarstuðuls. Fyrirliggjandi gögn frá Rannsóknum og greiningu voru notuð við gerð rannsóknarinnar og voru þátttakendur úrtak úr stórri rannsókn sem gerð var árið 2007. Þátttakendur voru 905 talsins, á aldrinum 16-19 ára. Niðurstöður leiddu í ljós að um helmingur stúlkna sem tóku þátt í rannsókninni hafði farið í megrun á síðastliðnum tólf mánuðum. Megrun tengdist marktækt verri andlegri og líkamlegri heilsu, þunglyndi, neikvæðri líkamsímynd og hærri líkamsþyngdarstuðli. Niðurstöður leiddu einnig í ljós að þær stúlkur sem voru með líkmasþyngdarstuðul 25 eða hærri, voru líklegri til að fara oftar í megrun en þær sem voru með líkamsþyngdarstuðul undir 25. Tilgangur rannsóknarinnar er að búa til grunn fyrir frekari rannsóknir, svo möguleiki sé á að hanna viðeigandi inngrip varðandi megrun ef þörf krefur.