Teenage girls increase use of diet pills

According to a study found in the journal Preventive Medicine, the use of diet pills almost doubled in a group of 2,500 female adolescents tracked for five years — overall rates of pill use rising from 7.5% to 14%. By the time girls reached ages 19 to 20, nearly 20% reported using diet pills to lose weight.

Teens were tracked in two groups, about half from seventh grade onward, the rest from when they were high school juniors or seniors. Each group increased their use of diet pills over time; the younger group had outpaced the older group by the time they reached their senior year in high school. "There are more pressures to be thin and greater availability of the pills over the counter and on the Internet," says study author Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, a professor at the university.

Bonnie - this is not a good day for gauging the health of our younger generations.