Doctors could do more to help at-risk teenagers who are trying to lose weight by vomiting, taking diet pills and skipping meals, a study has found.
Drawing on a survey of about 9000 New Zealand high school students, University of Auckland researchers identified healthy and unhealthy weight-loss strategies used by teenagers.
They noted that fasting and skipping meals were more common "red flag" behaviours, which were associated with poorer well-being and mental health.
The study found that clinicians rarely asked young people how they tried to control their weight.
Lemon Diet
"This may be due to uncertainty about which questions to ask, specifically around whether certain weight-loss strategies are healthier or unhealthy or about what weight-loss behaviours are more likely to lead to adverse outcomes," its report said.
lemon juice diet
"Routine assessment of weight-control strategies by clinicians are warranted, particularly for meal skipping and fasting for weight loss."
The study, in the International Journal of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity, cited a 2009 Youth Risk Behaviour survey, which suggested that more than 4 per cent of adolescents vomited for weight loss in the 30 days before the survey, 5 per cent took diet pills, and 10 per cent went without eating.
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