Welcome  to  the  Public  health  moment from  the  University  of  Minnesota. A  new  study  has  found  that  dieting  during teen  years  can  lead  to  long  term  health  problems. Diane  Newmark  Stein,  Er, a  University  of  Minnesota epidemiologist  who  conducted  the  five  year  study, says  that  dieting  teens were  three  times  more  likely  to  be overweight  after  five  years than  their  peers  who  didn't  diet. We  wanted  to  see  what  happens  to  Dieters. Does  dieting  help  adolescents  to  maintain  their  weight? What  happens  when  they  use specific  weight  control  practices? Found  that  the  dieting, and  especially  the  unhealthy weight  control  behaviors  were  not  effective. In  fact,  those  teenagers  who  reported  the  use  of unhealthy  weight  control  behaviors  were  three times  more  likely  to  be  overweight  five  years  later, this  analysis  took  into  account the  fact  that  those  children  were  at  a  certain  weight. When  we  began  the  study, we  also  found  that  the  Dieters tended  to  progress  to  more  serious  behaviors. They  were  at  much  greater  risk  for  binge  eating and  for  the  use  of  extreme  weight  control  behaviors, such  as  self  induced  vomiting  or  taking  diet  pills. Newmark  Steiner  says  that  parents  play an  important  role  in  fostering  healthy  eating  habits. Actually  I've  written  a  book  on  this  topic  based  on our  research  findings  because  they  were  so  strong. The  book  is  called,  I'm  Like  So  Fat. Helping  your  teen  make  healthy  choices  about eating  and  exercise  in  a  weight  obsessed  world. With  another  public  health  moment,  I'm  John  Finnegan.