Teenaged Girls’ Weight Affected By Perceived Social Standing

Teenagers, having problem with your weight? You might want to check this out.
Researchers led by Adina Lemeshow of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene found that teenaged girls who considered themselves on the lower rung of the social ladder were more likely to put on extra pounds.
The researchers analyzed questionnaires completed by 4,446 girls, aged 12 to 18, in 1999. the questionnaire included information on their height, weight, television viewing habits, diet and other factors, including their perceived social standing in school. Girls who rated themselves four or below on a 10-point scale of social standing were more likely to put on extra weight over the next two years than those who said they had a standing of five or higher, the researchers said.
“Our findings suggest that low school subjective social status may be an important contributor to increase in BMI on girls over time,” the researchers commented. (nlm.nih.gov)