Can social factors influence the dietary restraint of girls as young as five?

Abstract

This article aims to explore individual and sociocultural factors related to 5-year-old girls’ dietary restraint. Participants were 111 5-year-old girls, interviewed about their dietary restraint, body image, appearance ideals, positive weight bias, and peer conversations. A moderate level of dietary restraint was reported by 34% of girls, half showed internalisation of the thin ideal, while the majority were satisfied with their body size. Higher levels of girls’ dietary restraint were associated with attributing positive characteristics to thinner figures, greater internalisation of the thin ideal, more media exposure, and greater appearance conversations with peers. Sociocultural factors, including media exposure and peer conversations, were stronger predictors of dietary restraint than individual factors, suggesting that girls may have a tendency to diet due to social pressures rather than dissatisfaction with their size. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)