Teens who lose weight for healthy reasons, rather than to impress their parents or friends, tend to be more successful at keeping the extra weight off, according to a new study published in December in Childhood Obesity.
In interviews with 40 formerly obese or overweight teens who had lost an average 30 pounds and maintained the weight loss for a year, researchers found that the primary motivating factors were intrinsic, such as being healthier, rather than extrinsic. Among the study participants, more than 60 percent pointed to health as the primary motivator underpinning their successful weight loss, while 43 percent said peer acceptance was a contributor. In addition, a majority of the teens emphasized that losing weight was a decision they made on their own, and that such a decision-making process helped them successfully resist unhealthy foods and exercise regularly.
Study co-author Chad Jensen, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Brigham Young University, said he and his colleagues embarked on the study to gain a better understanding of the characteristics of successful teen weight loss, regardless of the method used to lose the weight. The study’s participants are taking part in the Adolescent Weight Control Registry, an ongoing effort to collect information on successful weight loss. Jensen said the recent findings on intrinsic motivators could be useful in shaping effective obesity promotion and prevention programs.
“We don’t have data that reports on the prevention side, but it’s reasonable to hypothesize that this might be a good method,” Jensen told The Nation’s Health. “From a prevention perspective, it’s consistent with a healthy conceptualization of what it means to be healthy.”
The study also found that successful teen weight loss was associated with an increase in physical activity, dietary changes and external support systems, such as Weight Watchers, online support groups, nutrition classes or school-based programs. About 62 percent of study participants said they were motivated to exercise in order to stay healthy, not to achieve a particular body shape or size. Many also reported fears of developing obesity-related diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. In addition to discussing what motivated their successful weight loss, teens also talked about when they were motivated to lose weight. More than 37 percent of participants pointed to major life transitions, such as going to college or starting a new job, as significant weight loss motivators.
“There seems to be sensitive periods when many teens lost weight and felt motivated,” Jensen said. “These life or activity transitions seem to be periods when teens have extra motivation to make change, so we might consider those periods as times when we can really help teens make behavioral changes.”
Family involvement and support were instrumental characteristics in successful teen weight loss as well, the study found. Nearly all the study participants said their parents actively participated in their weight loss goals by modeling and encouraging healthy behavior changes, such as increasing the availability of healthy foods at home. However, teens said parental criticism of their appearance or comparisons to family or friends were counterproductive.
“Typically, teens didn’t want parents overly involved,” Jensen said. “They want their parents to be partners, not leaders.”
Jensen said the Adolescent Weight Control Registry is an ongoing study now enrolling participants ages 14 to 20 who lost a minimum of 10 pounds as teenagers and maintained the weight loss for a year. For more information, visit www.weightresearch.org/studies/awcr.html.
For more information, visit http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/chi.2014.0062.
- Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association
