Washington, Oct 3: Overweight teens have the same eating disorders like their thin peers, a new study conducted on teenagers has revealed.

More than one-third of the overweight girls in the study engaged in what the researchers called “extreme weight control behaviours’ like vomiting or taking diet pills or laxatives in an attempt to lose weight.

“We usually look for these behaviours in very thin girls, but here we see a very high prevalence in overweight girls,’ revealed lead author Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, Ph.D., professor of public health at the University of Minnesota.

The researchers looked at 2,516 adolescents, primarily from inner city schools, first in 1998 or 1999, and again five years later. They asked teens about their dietary practices, exercise, exposure to weight-related media messages (such as diet advice), family meals and about whether peers or family members had teased them about their weight. About one-quarter of the teens were overweight.

“It is common lore that eating disorders and obesity are separate problems and that intervening with obesity intensifies concerns about weight and makes eating disorders worse,” said Kelly Brownell, Ph.D., director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University.

“This study shows that some common factors may create vulnerability to or protection against both problems,” said Brownell, who was not associated with this research.

The study also suggests that even light-hearted joking about weight at home could be problematic.

“Most families where there is weight-teasing are not abusive. They just don’t realize how hurtful it is. These findings show that your home needs to be a safe haven,” said Neumark-Sztainer, who has written a book for parents to help with weight-related problems.

“We have seen over the years that it does not work to make people feel worse about their bodies. The data are striking — talking about weight, worrying too much about diet, focusing on it increases risk not only of eating disorders, but also of being overweight,’ she added.

She suggested that it is necessary to give positive encouragement of healthy behaviour like making better food choices and exercising — and unconditional love, regardless of weight.

The study appears in the November issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. (ANI)