ST. LOUIS, Mo.—Identifying effective weight control strategies for adolescents is important and could help influence interventions for obesity in youth, according to a study published in the December 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
Researchers surveyed 130 adolescents, 62 who had been successful in losing weight and 68 who had been unsuccessful. Questioning adolescents and their parents, they evaluated weight control strategies, sedentary behaviors, dietary intake, physical activity, weighing frequency and current weight status.
Results showed that adolescents who lost weight were more likely to report using healthful weight control behaviors such as drinking less soda and increasing their exercise level, self-weighing, consuming diets higher in protein, and spending less time watching television compared to overweight adolescents who did not lose weight. Unhealthful weight control behaviors and specific weight-loss plans were not associated with weight loss in these teenagers.
“Adolescents would benefit from hearing this information from dietitians and other healthcare providers to prevent development of unhealthy weight control behaviors. Findings from the current study have the potential to guide both future research studies and clinical interventions on obesity in adolescents," the researchers wrote.