Less TV, more breakfast helps teens keep weight off
|
|
Eating breakfast, skipping snacks and cutting down on TV and computer time may help adolescents maintain a healthy weight after being treated for obesity, new research from France shows.
Teens who adopted these habits—and ate fewer calories while getting more of their energy from protein—were more likely to have kept the weight off two years after the conclusion of a weight-reduction program, Dr. Marie Francoise Rolland-Cachera of the University of Paris and colleagues found.
While certain behavior strategies are known to help formerly obese adults stay slim, such as monitoring one’s weight and food intake, less is known about the characteristics that distinguish adolescents who lose weight and keep it off, the researchers note.
To investigate, they followed up with 72 adolescents who had completed a 9-month weight loss program to identify characteristics associated with successful weight maintenance. The study participants ranged in age from 11 to 16 when they underwent the treatment, which took place at a boarding school and medical center.
Rolland-Cachera and her team divided the study participants into two groups: a successful group, and a group that had limited or no success in maintaining their weight. There were no differences in body measurements between the two groups when they enrolled in the program or after they had completed it; however, differences were apparent by the first year after program completion.
The researchers found that individuals who had kept their weight off tended to have leaner mothers than those who didn’t.
They also observed that, at 2 years post-treatment, adolescents in the successful group were consuming more of their daily calories at breakfast and lunch, and snacking less.
On average, the successful group consumed fewer calories from protein, fat and especially carbohydrates, while getting more of their total energy from protein. They also logged less “screen time” than their peers who hadn’t managed to keep as much weight off.
The unsuccessful group consumed more calories from sucrose, and the more time they spent watching TV or using a computer, the more sucrose they consumed.
Behavioral characteristics and body measurements won’t predict how well an obese adolescent will fare in his or her weight loss efforts, the researchers conclude, but as early as 1 year after treatment these characteristics can signal future success.
SOURCE: Journal of Pediatrics, May 2008.
Print Version
Tell-a-Friend comments powered by Disqus
