FEATURED PUBLICATION​

Dieting predicts engagement in multiple risky behaviours among adolescent Canadian girls:
a longitudinal analysis

Amanda Raffoul, Scott Leatherdale,
Sharon I. Kirkpatrick

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We investigated associations between dieting and other health-compromising behaviours among adolescent girls, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. The behaviours considered included smoking, binge drinking, and breakfast-skipping, and clusters of these. Data for 3386 adolescent Ontario girls were drawn from COMPASS, a school-based study, which collects self-reported measures of weight, dieting, and other health-related factors. Multilevel logistic regression models were used to investigate relationships between dieting at baseline and smoking, binge drinking, and breakfast-skipping, as well as clusters of these behaviours at baseline and 2 years later. Baseline dieters were at an elevated risk of smoking and binge drinking (RR = 1.8 and 1.5, respectively) by follow-up compared to non-dieters. Further, dieting was associated with combinations of these behaviours, with the highest risks for smoking/breakfast-skipping (RR = 1.64) and smoking/binge drinking (RR = 1.55). Over one in two (58%) girls reported dieting at baseline and four in five baseline dieters reported dieting 2 years later. Seven in ten girls were dieting at one or both time points. Baseline dieters were more likely to engage in a greater number of risky behaviours, regardless of what the actual behaviours were. Dieting is longitudinally associated with engagement in other risky behaviours among adolescent girls. These findings suggest that dieting may be an early risk factor for engagement in other risky behaviours and highlight the need for comprehensive prevention strategies to target shared underlying drivers. In addition, attention is needed to the potential for well-meaning weight-related initiatives to promote dieting.

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Tweets by amandaraffoul

Amanda Raffoul
BA MSc PhD(c)

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Research interests: Dieting/weight management, obesity, eating disorders, weight bias, body image, systems methods, women and adolescent health

Education:
PhD Candidate, Public Health and Health Systems, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, University of Waterloo (2016- )

MSc, Public Health and Health Systems, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, University of Waterloo (2014-2016) (Read Amanda's thesis)

BA, Psychology (with thesis), Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Windsor (2009-2014)

Select publications:
Peer-reviewed

•  Google Scholar

Non-peer-reviewed

• Kirkpatrick SI, Raffoul A. Top dietary sources of energy, sodium, sugars, and saturated fats among Canadians: Insights from the 2015 Canadian Community Health Survey. Submitted to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2018.
  
• Kirkpatrick SI, Raffoul A. Measures Registry User Guide: Individual Diet. Washington, DC: National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research. January 2017. 
  
• Kirkpatrick SI, Raffoul A. Sugar consumption among Canadians: A background paper. Report submitted to Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes and Health Canada, 2016.
  
• Kirkpatrick SI, Maynard M, Raffoul A, Stapleton J. Interventions to reduce sugar consumption: A scoping review of systematic reviews to identify gaps in the evidence. 2016. Report submitted to Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes and Health Canada, 2016.
  

Select presentations:

• Raffoul A, Hammond D, Kelly A, Kirkpatrick SI. Beyond the numbers: Young adults’ lived experiences of calorie labelling in relation to disordered eating. Body Peace Virtual Conference, 2019.
  
• Raffoul A, Kirkpatrick SI. Toward a holistic framework of eating- and weight-related disorders: Implications for public health intervention and weight stigma. 7th Annual International Weight Stigma Conference, 2019.
  
• Raffoul A, Rynard V, Goodman S, Hammond D, Kirkpatrick SI. Are weight management intentions and weight perceptions related to dietary quality among young adults? An analysis of the Canada Food Study. International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Annual Meeting, 2019.
  
• Raffoul A, Leatherdale ST, Kirkpatrick SI. Dieting and other risky behaviours among adolescent girls: Implications for obesity prevention initiatives. Canadian Obesity Summit, 2017.
  

Select recognitions:

• 2017-2020: Joseph-Armand Bombardier Doctoral Scholarship, SSHRC
  
• 2017-2020: President’s Graduate Scholarship, University of Waterloo
• 2018: Travel Award, CIHR Institute of Population and Public Health
• 2018: Student Award, Waterloo Institute for Complexity & Innovation (WICI)
• 2016: Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology
  
• 2016: President’s Graduate Scholarship, University of Waterloo
  
• 2016: Provost Doctoral Entrance Award, University of Waterloo
  
• 2016: Graduate Entrance Scholarship, University of Waterloo
  

Select professional activities and networks:

• Body Project Facilitator, Counselling Services, University of Waterloo (2017-Present)
• Program Facilitator, Shaping and Helping Youth Form Tomorrow (SHYFT), YWCA, Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge, ON (2015-Present)
• Working Group Member, Applied Health Sciences (AHS) HeForShe Committee, University of Waterloo (2017-Present)
• Core Member and Volunteer Coordinator, Waterloo-Wellington Eating Disorders Coalition (WWEDC) (2017-Present)
• Outgoing Chair, National Executive, Obesity Canada - Students and New Professionals (OC-SNP) (2018-2019)
• Chair, National Executive, Obesity Canada - Students and New Professionals (OC-SNP) (2017-2018)
• Chapter Representative, National Executive, Obesity Canada - Students and New Professionals (OC-SNP)(2016-2017)
• Co-Chair, Obesity Canada - Students and New Professionals University of Waterloo Chapter (OC-SNP-UW) (2015-2018)​