TOPLINE:

Among US adolescents aged 16-19 years with overweight or obesity, weight-loss attempts rose from 53.88% in 1999-2000 to 65.70% in 2021-2023, yet clinically meaningful weight loss remained uncommon.

METHODOLOGY:

• About 1 in 5 US adolescents aged 12-19 years have obesity, and although many try to lose weight, the effectiveness of these efforts remains unclear.
• This cross-sectional study analyzed National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data (1999-2023) from 2708 adolescents aged 16-19 years (47.44% girls) with overweight or obesity.
• Participants self-reported current body weight and weight from 1 year earlier using standardized questionnaires.
• Clinically meaningful weight loss was defined as a ≥ 5% or ≥ 10% reduction in body weight or a ≥ 0.2 reduction in BMI z-score over the previous year.
• Data were also collected on weight-loss attempts and strategies used over the previous year, including exercise, dietary changes, reduced sugar intake, and prescription medication use.

TAKEAWAY:

• Overall, 61.28% of adolescents reported attempting weight loss; the weighted prevalence increased significantly from 53.88% in 1999-2000 to 65.70% in 2021-2023 (P for trend < .01).
• Among those attempting weight loss, 26.96% achieved ≥ 5% weight loss, 12.58% achieved ≥ 10% weight loss, and 34.34% achieved a ≥ 0.2 reduction in BMI z-score.
• Exercise was the most commonly reported strategy (80.01%), followed by eating less food (57.09%) and drinking water (52.96%); no participants reported undergoing weight-loss surgery.
• Reduced sugar intake was associated with achieving ≥ 5% weight loss (odds ratio [OR], 2.16) and a ≥ 0.2 reduction in BMI z-score (OR, 1.89).
• Prescription medication use was associated with ≥ 5% weight loss (OR, 2.55), ≥ 10% weight loss (OR, 3.75), and ≥ 0.2-point reduction in BMI z-score (OR, 2.73; P < .05 for all).

IN PRACTICE:

“The low utilization of prescription medications and bariatric surgery demonstrated a gap in addressing adolescent obesity,” the authors of the study wrote.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Ligang Liu, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, and Guang Xiong, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China. It was published online in Obesity.

LIMITATIONS:

Weight-loss attempts, strategies, and body weight were self-reported, introducing potential recall bias. The questionnaire did not capture details on the intensity, frequency, and adherence to weight-loss strategies.

DISCLOSURES:

No funding source or specific grants were reported. The authors declared having no conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.