Almost 10% of Adolescents Use Non-Prescription Weight Loss Products

Earlier this week, a study published in JAMA Network Open raised concerns about the use of non-prescribed weight loss products among adolescents. The systematic review and meta-analysis calculated that almost 10% of adolescents had used an ineffective and potentially harmful non-prescribed weight loss product in their lifetime.

In this investigation, researchers sifted through studies from four databases, including MEDLINE PsycINFO, the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health (CINAHL), and EMBASE. Across these databases, the researchers identified 90 studies with data on non-prescribed weight loss products used by adolescents.

Although most of the studies, 56%, were conducted in North America, the researchers also included data from studies in 25 different countries across 6 continents, including Asia and Europe.

Across all patient populations, 5.5% of adolescents had reported using weight-loss drugs overall. Dissecting that statistic, the researchers estimated that approximately 2.0% of adolescents had used weight loss products in the past week. Additionally, 4.4% had used weight loss products in the past month, and 6.2% reported using these non-prescribed products in the past year.

Overall, 8.9% of adolescents have used non-prescribed weight loss products in their lifetime. 

Beyond generalized data, the researchers divided the information by gender. In female patients, the lifetime prevalence of using non-prescribed weight loss products was approximately 9%. Comparatively, the rate in males was significantly lower at 3%.

“This is a public health concern because correlates between the use of weight-loss products have been found with girls who have a low self-esteem, parental influence to lose weight or parental dissatisfaction with weight, self-body dissatisfaction, peer groups who value thinness, and media or social media influences promoting unrealistic beauty standards,” researchers noted in the study.

In addition to gathering data on sex-based variations in weight loss product use, the scientists in that study also evaluated the types of weight loss products. They noted that the most commonly used weight loss products were diet pills, with a prevalence of 6%.  Laxatives and diuretics were used less frequently at a prevalence of 4% and 2%, respectively.

“Given the individual and public health issues associated with adolescent use of non-prescription weight loss products, interventions are urgently required to prevent and regulate the use of weight-loss products in this population,” the researchers concluded.