American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 12, 1-11, Copyright © 1963 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc.

Attitudes Towards Physical Activity, Food and Family in Obese and Nonobese Adolescent Girls

¹ From the Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts

The attitudes of a group of obese adolescent girls attending a summer camp were compared to that of a similar group of nonobese adolescent girls. The two groups completed two types of tests: a direct questionnaire administered upon arrival at their respective camps and projective tests administered at the beginning and end of the camp season.

The responses of the nonobese group to the questionnaire imply a family life of sociability and unity, while their responses to the projective tests indicate that they have little difficulty separating from the family. In contrast to this, the obese group depict a less unified family which the child is afraid to leave.

The attitudes revealed by both questionnaire and projective tests towards activity and eating are interesting. Those in the obese group seem to be aware that they are inactive, although they have no conception of the degree of their inactivity. They seem totally unaware that they may not like physical activity or that there may be a relationship between inactivity and obesity. The attitude toward eating is different. Those in the obese group seem quite concerned about food-getting, but more often than in the control group it is linked with unpleasant consequences or affect. The obese subjects say that they eat more than others and often think that this is the cause of their obesity. This finding is particularly significant in the light of the fact that abnormal inactivity is at least as frequent as abnormally high intake in this particular age group.

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