Weight management goals and practices among US high school students: Associations with physical activity, diet, and smoking

Purpose: To examine associations of physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption, and cigarette smoking with weight management goals and practices of U.S. high school students. Methods: Data were from the 1999 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a representative sample of U.S. high school students (n = 15,349). Adjusted odds ratios (OR) were calculated to describe associations, controlling for demographic characteristics. Results: Based on self-reported height and weight, 25% of students were either overweight (11%) or at risk for becoming overweight (14%). However, 43% of students were trying to lose weight and 19% of students were trying to maintain their current weight. Female students were less likely than male students to be overweight, but more likely to be trying to lose weight. Trying to lose weight was associated with vigorous physical activity (OR = 1.5), strengthening exercises (OR = 2.2), and cigarette smoking (OR = 1.4) among female students; and vigorous physical activity (OR = 1.6), strengthening exercises (OR = 1.8), and eating greater than or equal to5 servings/day of fruits and vegetables (OR = 1.5) among male students. Among students trying to lose weight or stay the same weight, only 62% of females and 41% of males combined exercise with a reduced fat and calorie diet, while 32% of females and 17% of males used unhealthy weight control methods (fasting, diet pills, vomiting, or laxatives). Conclusions: Efforts to promote healthy weight management among adolescents are needed and should place greater emphasis on combining physical activity with a reduced fat and calorie diet, increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, and discouraging smoking and other unhealthy weight control practices.