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Adolescents who tried risky weight-loss methods tended to gain more weight once they reached their 20s, a new study found.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota followed local students over a decade and found that those who tried risky diets in their adolescent years were likely to gain more weight by their 20s.
Their findings, reported in the latest Journal of Adolescent Health, show that students who tried weight-loss strategies such as skipping meals or taking diet pills in 1999 and 2004 were likely to be heavier in 2009. Girls who tried these tactics gained 4.63 points in their body mass indexes (BMI) over the 10-year study period. Girls who didn't gained only 2.29 points. (BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight. A one-point increase equates to roughly 5 pounds of excess weight gain.)
