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Most Kids Have Dieted by 10th Grade |
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TUESDAY, Aug. 31 (HealthDayNews) -- A survey of high school sophomores in California found that 60 percent of them have made conscious efforts to lose weight.
The California State University survey of 146 students, aged 13 to 15, found that 73.6 percent of the girls said they had tried to shed pounds at some time, compared with 36.5 percent of the boys.
Of the students who had tried to lose weight, 15 percent said they'd tried dieting by age 11 and 84 percent had tried dieting by age 14. The survey found that 85 percent of the girls who'd tried dieting had done so by age 13.
The findings appear in the September issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
Another study in the same issue found that girls who eat a calcium-rich diet also consume more of other kinds of important nutrients.
The Creighton University study found that 9-year-old girls who eat a diet rich in calcium (at least 1,500 milligrams per day) also have a much higher intake of other essential nutrients than do girls who eat their usual diets.
The study of 59 girls found those who ate a calcium-rich diet didn't have greater increases in body weight or body mass index compared with girls who ate their usual diet.
More information
The Nemours Foundation has more about children and dieting.
(SOURCE: American Dietetic Association, news release, Aug. 31, 2004)
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