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Abstract

Objective: To assess the association between body weight concern and their frequency of exposure to the media among a group of young girls. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted of 110 girls aged 14-21 years, residing in the district of Howrah, West Bengal. Information on sociodemographic characteristics, weight related concern and media exposures were collected using pretested questionnaires. Weight related concerns included body weight dissatisfaction and perceived body weight. Media exposures included frequency of watching television programs, reading newspaper and magazine articles and browsing internet on topics related to body weight concern. Results: Although the frequency of watching television programs was high among the study participants yet it was not significantly associated with their body weight. Ch-square test showed that there was an association between the frequency of exposure to magazine articles related to body weight concern and initiation of exercise to reduce body weight. Reading of newspaper articles related to body weight by the participants was significantly associated with those who perceive themselves as fat. Multinomial logistic regression analysis revealed that the perception of being overweight was found to be four times more among the girls below 17 years compared to those who are older. Conclusions: Print media (both news paper and magazine) did play a significant role in developing concerns over body weight among this group of young girls.

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