Teenage Eating Habits

“A disturbing number of teenage schoolgirls are skipping meals because of anxiety about their body shapes and a desire to emulate fashion models and pop stars,” says London’s Daily Telegraph. A study of the eating habits of 300,000 pupils by Britain’s Schools Health Education Unit revealed that over 40 percent of girls aged 14 and 15 “went to school without eating breakfast. Compared with similar data compiled in 1984, the number leaving home without eating has nearly doubled.” The number of those skipping lunch also increased, from 2 percent in 1984 to 18 percent in 2001. Because of the heightened risk that students may develop eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia, head teachers of girls’ schools are being called on to monitor the weight of their students. Boys are also showing more interest in dieting. Among them, 31 percent of 12- and 13-year-olds and 25 percent of 14- and 15-year-olds want to lose weight, up from 26 percent and 21 percent respectively.