Dietary restraint behaviour in adolescence and weight status in young adulthood.

Abstract

Background - Dieting is a ubiquitous approach to weight control in teenagers, particularly in girls. The longer-term benefits of dieting for weight control have been little studied. Dieting can include dietary restraint behaviour and the impact of this on weight status is examined in the Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort Study. Methods - Between 1992 and 1995, dietary restraint habits were determined over 6 waves on a population representative sample of students initially aged 14-15 years. A binary outcome of dietary restraint (nil dietary restraint or dietary restraint) was created over the 6 waves. Initial body mass index (BMI) (adjusted for age) was stratified to 3 levels. At follow up, ..