Investigation of other health-related behaviors revealed that not only did females skip
breakfast more often than did males, they were also more likely to skip lunch (p < .05, chi-square
test) and to have been on a diet to lose weight (p < .00001, chi-square test). Due to the prevalence
and differences in reported dieting behavior, attitudes toward body shape and weight were also
investigated. The adolescents were asked whether they thought they were overweight (responses
were coded as yes or no). They were also asked to identify which of four body shapes they most
resembled, and which one they would most like to be (recoded as satisfied with body shape, want
to be smaller, and want to be larger). While females and males were equally likely to consider
themselves overweight (33.3% and 31.8%, respectively), females were significantly more likely
to be dissatisfied with their body shape and to want to be smaller (p < .00001, chi-square test).
Nearly half of the females wanted to be smaller; males were more likely to want to be larger