Study: Unhealthy Weight Control Efforts Started In Childhood Persist Into Adulthood
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A study done by the University of Minnesota shows unhealthy weight control efforts that begin in adolescence often continue, and even intensify, into adulthood.
The study, published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders, says dieting and weight control patterns in both men and women persist rather than cease in adulthood.
"Our findings show that the use of unhealthy weight control behaviors is not limited to the period of adolescence, but these behaviors continue to have a high prevalence 15 years later," U professor Dr. Dianne Neumark-Sztainer said.
The study showed rates of high frequency dieting -- meaning more than five times per year -- and extreme forms of weight control, like purging and using diet pills, increased in men into adulthood.
The study also said 20 percent of women did stop unhealthy weight-control behaviors in adulthood.
One in five people surveyed said they didn't initiate dieting until adulthood.