Big girls don't cry

Study finds overweight teens who are satisfied with their bodies are less depressed, less prone to unhealthy behaviors

2012-04-30

(Press-News.org) A study to be published in the June 2012 issue of Journal of Adolescent Health looking at the relationships between body satisfaction and healthy psychological functioning in overweight adolescents has found that young women who are happy with the size and shape of their bodies report higher levels of self-esteem. They may also be protected against the negative behavioral and psychological factors sometimes associated with being overweight.

A group of 103 overweight adolescents were surveyed between 2004 and 2006, assessing body satisfaction, weight-control behavior, importance placed on thinness, self-esteem and symptoms of anxiety and depression, among other factors.

"We found that girls with high body satisfaction had a lower likelihood of unhealthy weight-control behaviors like fasting, skipping meals or vomiting," said Kerri Boutelle, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. Boutelle added that the positive relationship shown in this study between body a girl's happiness with her body and her behavioral and psychological well-being suggests that improving body satisfaction could be a key component of interventions for overweight youth.

"A focus on enhancing self-image while providing motivation and skills to engage in effect weight-control behaviors may help protect young girls from feelings of depression, anxiety or anger sometimes association with being overweight," said Boutelle.

INFORMATION:

Additional contributors included first author Taya R. Cromley, PhD, of UCLA; Stephanie Knatz and Roxanne Rockwell, UC San Diego; and Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, PhD, MPH, RD and Mary Story, PhD, RD, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

This study was supported by a University of Minnesota Children's Vikings Grant.

[Attachments] See images for this press release:

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Notre Dame paper examines nanotechnology-related safety and ethics problem

2012-04-30

A recent paper by Kathleen Eggleson, a research scientist in the Center for Nano Science and Technology (NDnano) at the University of Notre Dame, provides an example of a nanotechnology-related safety and ethics problem that is unfolding right now. The world of nanotechnology, which involves science and engineering down at billionths-of-a-meter scales, might seem remote. But like most new advances, the application of that technology to everyday experience has implications that can affect people in real ways. If not anticipated, discussed or planned for, some of those ...

NASA's Landsat satellites see Texas crop circles

2012-04-30

VIDEO: In this time series animation, vegetation appears red and the bare soil of fallow fields or sparsely vegetated grasslands appear white to green. The blue-gray X near the center of... Click here for more information. A water-rich polka dot pattern takes over the traditional rectangular patchwork of fields in this time series animation of 40 years of Landsat images. In the dry Texas panhandle near the town of Dalhart, this transformation is due to center-pivot irrigation, ...

Moffitt researchers find adolescents with cancer concerned about their future reproductive health

2012-04-30

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues have found that adolescents newly diagnosed with cancer have strong concerns about their ability to have children as cancer survivors. They also found that standard health-related quality-of-life survey tools used to elicit answers from teens with cancer did not accurately reflect these concerns. Parents, who often answer survey questions as proxies, often inaccurately relayed their child's reproductive concerns. The study, carried out by Moffitt researchers and colleagues from the University of South Florida, the University ...

Moffitt Cancer Center researchers working at frontiers of melanoma research

2012-04-30

At Moffitt Cancer Center, patients with stage III and IV unresectable melanoma are now routinely genetically profiled for several gene mutations, including the BRAF gene, a known driver oncogene for melanoma. Research has shown that mutations in the BRAF gene determine sensitivity or resistance to a class of drugs that are BRAF inhibitors. "We have found that a large number of patients with melanoma who have the BRAF gene mutation quickly develop resistance to drugs that are BRAF inhibitors," said Jeffrey S. Weber, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Donald A. Adam Comprehensive ...

Moffitt Cancer Center researchers: Quality of life as important as quantity of life

2012-04-30

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have placed new emphasis on gathering data on cancer patient quality of life during both treatment and survivorship. Their focus is on gathering and using that data to develop interventions to improve the quality of life for patients in treatment and for cancer survivors. Much of the quality of life and survivorship research is carried out by researchers in Moffitt's Department of Health Outcomes & Behavior. "Among the several research goals of the Department of Health Outcomes & Behaviors is the evaluation and improvement of quality ...

Automated breast volume sonography improves screening and diagnosis of breast cancer for Asian women

2012-04-30

A new study from researchers at the Bangkok Breast Center shows significant improvement in the detection of breast cancer in Asian women using automated breast volume sonography (ABVS) as compared to hand-held ultrasound (HHUS). In their study on 504 findings in 212 patients at the Bangkok Breast Center, researchers found that ABVS agreed with HHUS in detecting 15 suspicious lesions, uncovered 12 additional suspicious lesions, and excluded 3 suspicious lesions in these cases. A coordinating five-year retrospective study on 26,741 mammograms with ultrasound also revealed ...

New radiology exhibit: How to improve treatment for musculoskeletal ski/snowboard injuries

2012-04-30

As skiing and snowboarding continue to be the most popular winter sports, they also carry a significant risk of injury. One new exhibit will show how radiologists can meet these injuries head on with proper patient management and the latest imaging techniques. "It is important for radiologists to understand these injuries patterns," said Dr. Hillary Boortz, lead author for this exhibit. "When a patient presents with the appropriate history, the radiologist can properly protocol the study and alter their search algorithms to assure that an injury isn't overlooked." She ...

Radiologists tackle legal challenges and policies for evaluating outside studies

2012-04-30

As more patients are referred to tertiary care center with previous images, a new study from researchers at the Westchester Medical Center shows how radiologists are tackling the challenges of interpreting outside studies and reviewing discordance opinions. "Outside studies were becoming a problem in our institution," said Dr. Zvi Lefkovitz, co-lead for this study. "We were receiving a lot of disjointed, fly-by-night examinations, and we had no formalized policy for reviewing these exams." Lefkovitz and his team began a comprehensive process of overhauling their procedures, ...

New standards for treating traumatic shoulder injuries improve patient care

2012-04-30

Shoulder injuries are among the most frequently encountered musculoskeletal injuries treated in emergency departments. One new study shows how radiologists can more effectively identify these injuries and improve patient outcomes. "The severity of shoulder injuries are often underestimated," said Dr. Scott Sheehan, lead author for the study. "Subtle injuries can have significant consequences if not recognized and treated promptly." Sheehan and his co-authors began studying the effects of traumatic shoulder injuries after one of his radiology mentors suffered a shoulder ...

New imaging protocols help improve systemic functioning for living renal donors

2012-04-30

A new study from UCLA shows how magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and computed tomography angiography (CTA) are equivalent in delineating anatomy in living renal donors. In a study that examined 30 patients and 60 kidneys, both modalities were "excellent" in detecting the number of renal arteries and veins. Dr. Mittul Gulati, lead author for the study noted, "either MRA or CTA are great tools for helping surgeons remove kidneys safely, identifying donor and recipient veins and vessels, and identifying incidental findings." The results could potentially reduce radiation ...

Krebs von den Lungen-6 as a biomarker for distinguishing between interstitial lung disease and interstitial lung abnormalities based on computed tomography findings

Big girls don't cry

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: