The Relationship between Health and Fitness Magazine Reading and Eating-Disordered Weight-Loss Methods among High School Girls

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between reading women's health and fitness magazines and the use of eating-disordered diet methods (laxatives, appetite suppressants/diet pills, intentional vomiting, and restricting calories to 1,200 a day or less) among a group of 498 adolescent girls at two western U.S. high schools. The authors found moderate to strong positive associations between reading frequency and the use of these unhealthy weight-control practices, which are often the first steps toward the development of eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. Frequent readers also scored significantly higher on the Mizes Anorectic Cognitions Scale, which measures the presence of eating-disordered cognitions, than moderate or infrequent readers.