Every 1 in 10 girls once consumed weight loss pills, says study

A study revealed that one in ten girls has consumed dietary pills for weight loss at least once in their lifetime, as reported by Good Morning America.

The School of Public and Preventive Health at Monash University in Melbourne conducted an extensive research to ascertain the usage of non-prescribed dietary products, publishing their findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

The research encompassed over 90 countries and included more than 600,000 participants aged 18 or under from around the world.

The participants hailed from North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, the Caribbean, and Asia. The findings indicated a higher tendency among girls to use dietary pills, with highest prevalence in North America exhibiting, followed by Asia and Europe.

"Childhood use of non-prescribed weight-loss products has been associated with low self-estee dietary pills,  m, depression, poor nutritional intake, and substance use," as stated in the journal.

As per the study, adolescents most frequently used diet pills among various weight-loss products, with laxatives and diuretics. Previous research established a significant correlation between the use of diet pills and the development of eating disorders.

A study conducted by the American Public Health Association indicated that the usage of diet pills and laxatives in the United States is linked to a heightened risk of developing an eating disorder within one to three years compared to non-users.

Additionally, a study published last year by the JAMA network on eating disorders estimated that 22% of children and adolescents showed signs of disordered eating. This extensive study involved 63,000 participants from 16 countries.

Director of external affairs at the eating disorder charity ‘Beat,’ Tom Quinn, empahsised: "There should be stricter laws to ensure weight loss products are never sold to people with or vulnerable to an eating disorder."