Teen Exercise More About Weight Loss Than Having Fun

As if our teenagers don’t have enough to worry about at the moment, it seems more of them than ever are obsessed with their weight.

- Dr Miriam Stoppard

In 2015, 42% of 14-year-old girls and boys said they were trying to lose weight, compared to 30% in 2005.

So a research team from University College London and the universities of Edinburgh and Liverpool set about reviewing data from 22,503 adolescents born in three different decades – 1970, 1991-92 and 2000-2002.

The researchers found that in 2015, 44% and 60% of all participants had dieted or exercised to lose weight, respectively, compared to 38% and 7% in 1986, which shows a large shift.