Meeting fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity recommendations among adolescents intending to lose weight

Two-thirds of adolescents who are overweight or have obesity report weight loss intentions. Most report using weight loss strategies consistent with expert recommendations for obesity prevention; however whether they meet recommended fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake and physical activity (PA) recommendations is unknown. We investigated whether weight loss attempts, and weight loss strategies were associated with meeting F&V and PA recommendations. Data were from the 2010 National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Study, which surveyed a cross-sectional, nationally representative sample of U.S. high school students. Analyses were restricted to overweight/obese students (n = 2841). Adjusted logistic regression models assessed the odds of meeting daily F&V and weekly PA recommendations after adjusting for grade, sex, race/ethnicity and perceived weight status. Compared to students who were overweight and were not currently intending to lose weight, students who were overweight and intending to lose weight were not more likely to meet F&V or PA. Among students with obesity, those who intended to lose weight were more likely than students who were not currently intending to lose weight to meet F&V recommendations (OR: 3.62, 95% CI: 1.70–7.73). Students who were overweight/obese and used F&V or PA for weight loss were significantly more likely to meet the corresponding recommendation than students intending to lose weight without specific strategies. Weight loss attempts alone do not affect the likelihood of meeting most expert recommendations. Public health efforts emphasizing recommended strategies for healthy eating and active living still need to be encouraged for overweight/obese youth.