TY - JOUR TI - Body composition and eating behaviours in relation to dieting involvement in a sample of urban Greek adolescents from the TEENAGE (TEENs of Attica: Genes & Environment) study AU - Ntalla, I. AU - Giannakopoulou, M. AU - Vlachou, P. AU - Giannitsopoulou, K. AU - Gkesou, V. AU - Makridi, C. AU - Marougka, M. AU - Mikou, G. AU - Ntaoutidou, K. AU - Prountzou, E. AU - Tsekoura, A. AU - Dedoussis, G.V. JO - Public Health Nutrition PY - 2014 VL - 17 TODO - 3 SP - 561-568 PB - Cambridge University Press SN - 1368-9800, 1475-2727 TODO - 10.1017/S1368980013000074 TODO - adolescent; anthropometry; body composition; body mass; caloric intake; cross-sectional study; diet; Eating Disorders; exercise; female; Greece; human; lifestyle; low calory diet; male; medical record; nutritional assessment; physiology; prevalence; prospective study; psychology; questionnaire; risk factor; socioeconomics; statistics and numerical data; urban population, Adolescent; Anthropometry; Body Composition; Body Mass Index; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diet; Diet Records; Diet, Reducing; Eating Disorders; Energy Intake; Exercise; Female; Greece; Humans; Life Style; Male; Nutrition Assessment; Prevalence; Prospective Studies; Questionnaires; Risk Factors; Socioeconomic Factors; Urban Population TODO - Abstract Objective To document the prevalence of dieting and to compare body composition markers, dietary intakes and eating behaviours across dieting categories. Design Prospective, cross-sectional study. Setting Twenty-four randomly selected secondary public schools located in Attica, Greece. Subjects Anthropometric, medical and dietary information was obtained from 857 (54·9 % females) adolescents (mean age 13·4 (sd 0·9) years). Meal patterns, eating behaviours and eating style score, reflecting conditions around eating, were assessed. Adolescents were asked about their dieting involvement and were categorised as 'never dieters', 'current dieters' or 'past dieters'. Results Overall, 20·1 % of the adolescents were currently dieting and 15·2 % reported past dieting. Mean BMI and body fat percentage of never dieters were significantly lower than those of both groups of dieters (P < 0·001). Breakfast skipping (χ2 = 10·92, P = 0·004) and eating large quantities of food (χ2 = 7·18, P = 0·028) differed significantly across dieting groups in females. Significant differences in dinner skipping were observed in both males (χ2 = 10·55, P = 0·005) and females (χ2 = 20·91, P < 0·001). Female past dieters had significantly higher eating style scores than never dieters (P = 0·010) and current dieters (P = 0·042), indicating less well-structured feeding practices and food intake for reasons other than hunger. Conclusions The present study showed a high prevalence of dieting among adolescents. Current dieters and past dieters had higher BMI and body fat percentage than never dieters. Eating behaviours differed significantly depending on dieting involvement, especially in females; while an apparently healthier, ordered eating style adopted by dieters during the dieting period seemed not to be maintained in the long term. © The Authors 2013. ER -