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Girls Tie Weight To Social Status

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The Associated Press

Published: January 8, 2008

CHICAGO - Where a teenage girl sees herself on her school's social ladder may sway her future weight, a study of more than 4,000 girls finds.

Those who believed they were unpopular gained more weight over a two-year period than girls who viewed themselves as more popular. Researchers said the study showed how a girl's view of her social status has broader health consequences.

The girls in the study were still growing; their average age was 15. Those who rated themselves low in popularity were 69 percent more likely than other girls to increase their body mass index by two units, the equivalent of gaining about 11 excess pounds. The body mass index, or BMI, is a calculation based on height and weight.

Girls who put themselves on the higher rungs of popularity also gained some excess weight, but less - about 6 1/2 pounds.

Both groups, on average, fell within ranges considered normal, but a gain of two BMI units during two years is more than the typical weight gain for adolescent girls, the researchers said.

"How girls feel about themselves should be part of all obesity prevention strategies," said the study's lead author, Adina Lemeshow, who began the study as a Harvard School of Public Health graduate student. She now works at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The research appeared in January's Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

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