The development and evaluation of a stage-based dieting status measure (DiSM)

Abstract This article describes the development and validation of a research tool for categorizing people according to the chronicity of their dieting. DiSM is a stage-based dieting status measure. A group of 54 females between the ages of 13 and 41 years completed the Dieting Status Measure and then answered a series of questions regarding its usefulness and level of difficulty as a task. They were also asked to suggest ways the measure could be improved. One hundred and forty-one female adolescents then compieted the revised measure, as well as two subscales of the Eating Disorders Inventory and a measure of dieting behavior. The new Dieting Status Measure was found to be useful for capturing individual differences. Moreover, as expected, each of the stages of increasing chronicity of dieting status was generally associated with significant increases in dieting-related thoughts, attitudes, and behavior. Although it is related to the other dieting-related measures, DiSM is not simply a duplication and instead provides unique information. The new Dieting Status Measure is a useful tool for researchers attempting to investigate factors associated with the initiation and development of dieting onto more serious levels.