Strategies that children and adolescents use to lose weight

Background: Understanding self-reported strategies used by children/adolescents to lose weight is an important public health topic, given the many strategies that are currently available. Study aims were to (1) describe weight loss strategies used by children/adolescents and (2) examine differences in these strategies by self-perceived weight status. Methods: The 2005 YouthStyles mail panel survey collected data from 1148 children/adolescents who reported whether they were currently trying to lose weight; and from 523 who reported strategies used from 10 response categories. Weight loss strategies used were described using proportions. Associations between self-perceived weight status and strategies used by at least 50% of children/adolescents were examined. Weighted logistic regression models, adjusting for gender and age, were developed to examine associations between self-perceived weight status and weight loss strategies. Analyses were conducted using SAS (v9.1). Results: Twenty-nine percent of children and 55% of adolescents reported currently trying to lose weight. Over half of the children/adolescents reported exercising more, eating more fruits and vegetables, and eating smaller food portions to lose weight. Compared to those not overweight (n=129), overweight children/adolescents (n=392) were more likely to report eating smaller food portions (OR=1.88; 95% CI=1.24-2.86) but less likely to report exercising more (OR=0.43; 95% CI=0.24-0.78) to lose weight. Self-perceived weight status was not significantly related to eating more fruits and vegetables to lose weight. Conclusions: Individual weight loss strategies differed by self-perceived weight status. Further research is needed to understand child/adolescent weight loss initiation in the context of home, school, and community environments.