Dietary Contributions to Obesity in Adolescents

Harvard University, Prevention Research Center on Nutrition and Physical Activity

Topics:
Healthy Youth
Nutrition & Physical Activity for Youth | Obesity & Overweight

By conducting new analyses of data collected for the Growing Up Today Study, researchers are learning how dietary patterns relate to weight gain and the development of obesity among adolescents. In the original study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, more than 16,000 9- to 14-year-old children of participants in the Nurses’ Health Study II have answered annual questionnaires since 1996. One finding from the additional analyses is that adolescents who often drink sweetened beverages (such as sodas and punch) gain more weight than adolescents who rarely or never do. The researchers also found no relation between intake of fruits, fruit juice, or vegetables and weight gain. Adolescents who follow a self-prescribed diet to control their weight are likely to binge eat and ultimately gain weight. Academic performance is poorer for youths who skip breakfast than for those who eat breakfast nearly every day. How other dietary patterns are established, maintained, and interrelated are being revealed.

 

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