Adolescent stress: A predictor of dieting behaviors in youth with overweight/obesity

To examine associations between psychological stress and dieting behavior along with the heterogeneity of this association by gender and race in a diverse sample of adolescents with overweight/obesity. One hundred and sixty-one adolescents between the ages of 13–19 years of age with overweight/obesity (65% female; 53% non-Hispanic black/47% non-Hispanic white; age: 16.7 ± 1.7 years) were recruited from Southeast MI and included in this analysis. Psychological stress was measured using the Perceived Stress Scale, and dieting behavior was assessed using the dieting subscale from the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) questionnaire. Multivariable linear regression models were conducted to examine the association between psychological stress and dieting behavior by gender and race. Psychological stress was significantly associated with dieting (β = 0.18 ± 0.06; p