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American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 7, 288-294, Copyright © 1959 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc.

Test of the Psychogenic Theory of Obesity for a Sample of Rural Girls

LEE G. BURCHINAL PH.D.1 and ERCEL S. EPPRIGHT PH.D.1

1 From the Department of Economics and Sociology, and the Department of Foods and Nutrition, Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa

Data from rural Iowa girls aged 10 through 16 were organized to test the psychogenic theory of obesity. The girls were classified by means of the Wetzel-grid method as heavy and obese, medium, or thin. Only girls who remained within the same major channels for three years were used as subjects for this study. Comparisons among family-structure variables, intelligence scores, spelling, arithmetic and reading achievement scores, mental health analysis scores, levels of physical activity, and sex-role identification scores were made for the three groups of girls to test several hypotheses derived from the psychogenic theory of obesity. None of the tests supported the psychogenic theory of obesity.

However, it was found that the heavy and obese girls tended to have overweight parents more frequently than would have been expected. This finding suggested that constitutional factors or family eating habits may be involved in the children's obesity.






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Copyright © 1959 by The American Society for Nutrition