HHS HealthBeat (March 2, 2007)

Light reading

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

There are healthy and unhealthy ways to lose weight. You could read about them and make a choice – which, a study says, many teens do.

But the study indicates the choice is often wrong.

Patricia van den Berg of the University of Minnesota says girls who read magazine articles on diet and weight loss were more likely to have bad weight loss practices five years later.

"The unhealthy behaviors were things like fasting, skipping meals or smoking more cigarettes. And the extreme weight control behaviors were things like taking diet pills, vomiting and using laxatives." (10 seconds)

Van den Berg says teens should critically examine what the media tell them, and focus on healthy eating and exercise.

Her study in the journal Pediatrics was supported by HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: May 7, 2011