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Treatment of overweight in children and adolescents: does dieting increase the risk of eating disorders?
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Treatment of overweight in children and adolescents: does dieting increase the risk of eating disorders?

Meghan L Butryn and Thomas A Wadden
The International journal of eating disorders, v 37(4), pp 285-293
May 2005
PMID: 15856498

Abstract

Obesity - diet therapy Feeding and Eating Disorders - etiology Humans Risk Factors Adolescent Diet, Reducing - adverse effects Diet, Reducing - psychology Feeding Behavior - psychology Feeding and Eating Disorders - psychology Child Behavioral Symptoms - etiology
Overweight is a serious health problem in children and adolescents. Some investigators fear that dieting, the principal method of reducing body weight, may precipitate eating disorders and related complications. This review examined the literature on the effects of dieting on eating behavior and psychological status in youth. Electronic databases were searched for articles containing combinations of the following keywords: weight loss, dieting, treatment, overweight, obesity, anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, eating disorder, children, and adolescents. A manual search of reference lists also was conducted. Five relevant studies were found. Their findings suggest that a professionally administered weight loss poses minimal risks of precipitating eating disorders in overweight children and adolescents. Significant improvements in psychological status also were observed in several studies. Concerns about potential ill effects of dieting should not dissuade overweight youth from pursuing sensible methods of weight loss.

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#5 Gender Equality
#3 Good Health and Well-Being

InCites Highlights

Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:

Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Nutrition & Dietetics
Psychiatry
Psychology
Psychology, Clinical
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