Weight control behaviors among obese, overweight, and nonoverweight adolescents.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate weight control behaviors, eating, and physical activity behaviors among obese, overweight, and nonoverweight female and male adolescents.


METHODS
A representative sample of 8,330 7th, 9th, and 11th grade public school students in Connecticut participated in the study. Adolescents responded to questions about weight control behaviors (dieting, exercise, vomiting, diet pills, and laxatives), healthy eating behaviors, breakfast consumption, and vigorous physical activity.


RESULTS
In comparison to nonoverweight youths, overweight adolescents were less likely to eat breakfast and less likely to engage in vigorous physical activity than nonoverweight youths. Higher prevalences of unhealthy weight control behaviors were evident among overweight youths.


CONCLUSIONS
Overweight adolescents use more unhealthy weight management strategies and are not engaging in healthier strategies, such as increased physical activity or healthier eating. These findings suggest the need to provide consistent messages about healthy weight loss methods to adolescents.
Boutelle
Kerri
K
Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455, USA. boutelle@umn.edu
Neumark-Sztainer
Dianne
D
Story
Mary
M
Resnick
Michael
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001835:Body Weight; D003625:Data Collection; D015444:Exercise; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D012737:Sex Factors