Using the interactionist framework and semantic differential and discriminant analysis techniques, the study sought to determine (a) the existence of body build stereotypes, (b) the extent of identification with these stereotypes, and (c) the effect of such identification upon the child's self evaluation. The subjects were 388 children in grades…

A study investigated changes in children's physical fitness during summer vacation. Children's cardiorespiratory fitness decreased, as did their body weight, especially for boys. Fall curriculum offerings should be designed to accommodate detrained students. (PP)

At 3 years of age, children who had received food supplementation were an average of 2.6 cm and 642 grams larger than controls. Home visiting and supplementation combined reduced the number of children with severe growth retardation. Participants were 280 infants and their families from poor neighborhoods in Bogota, Colombia. (RH)

Using body silhouettes, 87 college women and 118 college men indicated their own body shapes and shapes they and same-sex and other-sex peers find most attractive. Focus was on whether women overestimate desirability of thin figures among female peers. Males and females misjudged same-sex peers' preferences compared with ideals. (SLD)

Assessed mother-infant attachment in a low-income population in Chile. Underweight children and children with adequate weight were classified as secure or anxious by means of the Ainsworth Strange Situation. Underweight children showed more anxious attachment, and anxious children showed the most serious weight deficits. (BC)

Investigated implications of body-fat differences for dating and sexual activity and implications of heterosexual activity for dieting and weight concerns in adolescent girls. Found that among white girls, and blacks with college-educated mothers, more body fat was associated with lower dating probability, even among non-obese girls. Body fat was…

Compared impact of maternal influences and impact of peer influences on eating problems among Japanese adolescent girls. Found greater impact of peer interactions in grades 10 and 11, while maternal influence was stronger in grades 8 and 9. Measured participants' sensitivity to social evaluation and found no effects of grade in this area. (SD)

Appearance schemas, a suggested cognitive component of body image, have been associated with body dissatisfaction in adolescent and adult samples. This study examined girls' weight status (BMI), depression, and parent, sibling, peer, and media influences as predictors of appearance schemas in 173 pre-adolescent girls. Hierarchical regression…

Background: Behavioural disorders with a neurodevelopmental background, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), have been associated with a non-optimal foetal environment, reflected in small body size at birth. However, the evidence stems from highly selected groups with birth outcomes biased towards the extreme low end of the…

To monitor priority health-risk behaviors among youth and young adults, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS). The YRBSS includes national, state, territorial, and local school-based surveys of high school students in grades 9-12. In addition, some states, territories,…

Maternal prenatal smoking, birth weight and sociodemographic factors were investigated in relation to cognitive abilities of 1544 children (aged 3.5 years) participating in the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Children's Development. The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) was used to assess verbal ability, the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale…

Longitudinal analysis of 10-year follow-up data on objectified body consciousness, body esteem, weight-related attitudes and behaviors, and psychological well-being in 74 middle-aged and 72 young women tested hypotheses developed from age-related change and cohort differences models of body experience. Young women's body surveillance and body…

While they demonstrate some ability to critically analyze the more obvious forms of deceptive weight-loss advertising, many girls do not recognize how advertising evokes emotional responses or how visual and narrative techniques are used to increase identification in weight-loss advertising. This study examined how girls aged 9-17 years…

The hypothesis that negative emotional life states accompanying life stresses are associated with overeating and weight gain cannot be adequately tested solely by laboratory analogue studies. Naturalistic, short-term longitudinal designs are needed in which individuals susceptible to mood eating can be identified prior to a stressful event and…

In June 1975, 47 men and 43 women living on commercial farms in Fulton County, Pennsylvania were interviewed regarding their behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes related to preventing cancer and coronary heart disease. Respondents represented about 39% of all adults living on commercial farms in the county. A commercial farm was defined as one that…