A study published in the open access journal Nutrition Journal also reveals that college girls practice unhealthy behaviours, such as smoking or skipping breakfast, to lose weight. By contrast, only 19% of them exercise enough to promote weight loss.
The authors of the study conclude that all college girls, regardless of whether they are normal weight, overweight or obese, would benefit from counselling or open discussions about healthy dieting practices.
Brenda Malinauskas and colleagues from East Carolina University, Greenville, USA asked 185 college girls about their weight perception, dieting practices and physical activity.
Malinauskas et al. found that 83% of the girls reported trying to control their weight or having tried to control their weight, regardless of whether they were normal weight, overweight or obese. Of the 185 girls studied, 80% reported exercising to lose weight although 32% did not really take part in regular physical activity and only 19% of them actually exercised often and vigorously enough to lose weight. Eating low fat, low sugar foods, eating less than one wants and counting calories were other methods used to lose weight. The most maladaptive weight loss practice reported was smoking to lose weight - it was reported by 9% of the girls. The most unhealthy practice reported was skipping breakfast - reported by 32% of the girls.
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"After only three months, there was a significant fat mass loss," Einerhand notes, and the losses continued for the next three months. After six months, there was an average fat mass loss of 2 kilos corresponding to about 6% fat loss. At the same time, "overall body weight loss was 'only' 1.5 kilos because there was a gain in muscle mass," she reports.
Waist measurements shrunk 2.2 centimeters and hips 0.5 cm over six months. Waist-hip ratio decreased a significant 0.024. BMI fell an on average 0.6, from the starting point of BMI 28-32 for the 118 overweight and obese subjects. In the trial, subjects received either 3.4 grams per day of CLA (Clarinol), or olive oil placebo.
Health implications, plus 'body molding' effects
"Overall, this location-specific loss of fat mass is both interesting and important," Einerhand notes. "While the fat mass loss in the legs and abdomen represents a kind of 'body shaping' effect, the loss of abdominal fat mass is potentially a very important healthy effect because abdominal fat is correlated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes," she adds. As part of the study, safety factors were monitored, and CLA was found to have no effect on insulin resistance.
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