Shared Risk and Protective Factors for Overweight and Disordered Eating in Adolescents

Weight-specific socioenvironmental, personal, and behavioral variables are strong and consistent predictors of overweight status, binge eating, and extreme weight-control behaviors later in adolescence. These findings support the need for research to determine if decreasing weight-related social pressures, personal weight concerns, and unhealthy weight-control behaviors can contribute to reductions in obesity in children and adolescents.