Abstract
Objective
The present study aims to evaluate the long‐term effects of a school‐based prevention programme administered to adolescents; the purpose of the said programme was to reduce disordered eating attitudes and sociocultural influences on the internalisation of the aesthetical body ideal.
Methods
A total of 254 girls and 189 boys were assigned to a control (n = 201) or to two experimental conditions: media literacy programme (n = 143) and media literacy plus nutrition awareness programme (n = 99). Pretest, post‐test (1 month later) and 7‐month and 30‐month follow‐up measurements were taken using the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT‐40) and the questionnaire on influences of aesthetic body ideal‐26/cuestionario de influencias del modelo estético corporal (CIMEC‐26). Linear mixed‐model analyses were conducted with a 2 × 3 × 3 ANOVA (sex × group × phase), adjusted by the baseline level.
Results
The participants from both prevention programmes scored lower than the participants in the control group at follow‐up assessments on EAT‐40 and CIMEC‐26 scores.
Discussion
Both media literacy‐based programmes can be effective interventions reducing long‐term self‐reported disordered eating attitudes and internalisation of the aesthetic body ideal in a universal mixed‐sex school‐going adolescent population. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.