نبذة مختصرة : Previous research found that weight-related behaviors and body weight tends to be similar between individuals and peers. Rather little is known how different domains of weight-related behaviors co-evolve in peer networks. Hence, this study explores how young adults&rsquo
self-reported dieting relates to perceived body weight and weight control behaviors of their peers. A Swedish two-wave panel survey with ego-centric network data was analyzed with negative binomial regression models. Nineteen-year-old men and women in the first wave, and 23-year-olds in the follow-up sample were examined. Men at age 19 showed an increased dieting propensity when being exposed to underweight peers. Compared to men, women&rsquo
s dieting at age 19 was more strongly related to their own body image concerns, and peers&rsquo
weight-related behaviors like physical exercising and unhealthy eating. The associations between dieting and peers&rsquo
weight-related characteristics for men and women deteriorated from age 19 to age 23. The findings suggest that women&rsquo
s dieting&mdash
in comparison to dieting in men&mdash
is more strongly related to the peer context. The decrease in associations between men&rsquo
s and women&rsquo
s dieting and peers&rsquo
weight-related characteristics from age 19 to age 23 may reflect a weakened importance of the peer context in early adulthood.
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