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Teenagers, bathroom scales can increase weight!
Doctors now recommend that teenage girls stay off weighing themselves too often. According to a recent study by Dr. Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, professor of epidemiology and her team at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, regular weight checks may eventually promote unhealthy eating habits and even lead to increase in weight.
The researchers of the EAT-Eating Among Teens survey studied the eating habits and weight patterns of more that 2000 teenagers over a five year period.
It was observed that adolescents who regularly checked their weight were most likely to pack on the pounds. They noted that regular weigh-ins among teenagers caused them to gain almost twice the weight when compared to their peers who kept off the scales.
The research threw up more bad news and observed that these frequent checks could in turn cause unhealthy eating tactics such as binge eating, starving or skipping meals, smoking, using laxatives, slimming pills and vomiting.
Remarking on the findings Dr Neumark-Sztainer said, “As a society, so much attention is given to weight and staying within a specific number range to maintain a healthy lifestyle. This study shows that encouraging teens to focus on weight as a number is not helpful, and in fact, could be harmful.”
The report will be published in this month's issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health.
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Written
by :
Paul Robinson | Published on :
04:30:00
EST
Fri, 08 Dec 2006 |
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