Self-weighing can be a useful tool to help adults con trol their weight, but for young women, this behavior may have negative psychological out comes, says a new study .
Among females, frequently self-weighing is significantly related to weight concern, depression and a decrease in body satisfaction and self-esteem, the study found.
Females who strongly agreed they self-weighed, reported engaging in extremely dangerous weight-control behaviors at a rate of 80%
.Adolescent obesity is a public health concern, but body dissatisfaction and weight concerns are predictors of harmful eating disorders.
This makes it critical that obesity-prevention programmes avoid exacerbating these predictors by understanding how behaviors such as self-weighing affect teens.
The researchers tracked 1,902 young adults over 10 years as a part of project EAT (Eating and Activity in Teens and Young Adults). Results indicated that females who reported an increase in self-weighing over the 10-year period, showed signs of increasing weight concerns, depressive symptoms and a decrease in self-esteem.
Source: TOI 13 Nov’2015
