Prevalence of Weight Loss Product Use 5.5 Percent in Teens
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 10, 2024 -- Overall, 5.5 percent of adolescents use weight-loss products, with higher use among girls, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published online Jan. 10 in JAMA Network Open.
Natasha Yvonne Hall, Pharm.B., from the School of Health and Social Development at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues examined the global prevalence of nonprescription weight-loss product use in children and adolescents in a meta-analysis of 90 articles with 604,552 unique participants (56 percent of studies from North America).
The researchers found that the reported prevalence of nonprescription weight-loss product use was 5.5 percent in adolescents overall. Prevalence was 2.0, 4.4, 6.2, and 8.9 percent in the past week, past month, past year, and lifetime, respectively, when identifying use of weight-loss products in the general population. Girls had higher use of weight-loss products than boys.
"Prevalence of weight-loss product use was higher in North America compared with Asia and Europe and was higher in Asia compared with Europe," the authors write. "Given the individual and public health issues associated with adolescent use of nonprescription weight-loss products, interventions are urgently required to prevent and regulate use of weight-loss products in this population."
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
![](/img/logo/vendor/healthday-logo.png)
© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted January 2024
Read this next
Small Differences in Weight Change With First-Line Antidepressants
MONDAY, July 1, 2024 -- For eight first-line antidepressants, small differences are seen in mean weight change, with the least weight gain with bupropion, according to a study...
Bariatric Surgery Tied to Lower Risk of MACE, Death in Obesity, Sleep Apnea
FRIDAY, June 28, 2024 -- Metabolic surgery is associated with significantly lower risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) compared with nonsurgical management among...
Exercise + GLP-1 RA Effective for Weight Loss While Preserving BMD
THURSDAY, June 27, 2024 -- For adults with obesity, without diabetes, combining exercise with the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA), liraglutide, is effective...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.