from JAMA Internal Medicine
Young adults gain weight faster than other age groups and increase their risk of developing weight-related health problems. However a study appearing in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine shows young adults taught self-regulation habits were more successful at preventing weight gain than a similar control group. The three-year study taught participants to weigh themselves every day and use that information to maintain weight or make behavior changes. Some participants were taught to make small changes daily in diet and exercise to prevent weight gain. Others were encouraged to lose five to ten pounds initially to act as a buffer against future weight gain. Both the large and small scale changes were effective in slowing average weight gain, but those making the greatest changes actually led to some weight loss.