Girls who frequently eat cereal weigh less on average- study

01/09/05 In a nationwide study to be published in the September issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, researchers following more than 2,000 girls over a 10-year period from childhood through adolescence found that girls who frequently eat cereal weigh less on average than girls who do not eat cereal.

Nearly one in three adolescent girls is overweight or obese in the U.S. Adolescence is a critical developmental stage in a teen-aged girl's life when becoming overweight can lead to a lifetime struggle with weight. Research shows that being overweight as a child can lead to obesity as an adult. Research also shows that teen girls who are overweight may have a higher risk for developing a negative self-image.

The study draws from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study, a longitudinal biracial observational cohort study which recruited 2,379 girls (1,166 white and 1,213 black) at the ages of 9 or 10 from locations in Berkeley, CA; Cincinnati, OH; and Washington, DC; and then recorded information gathered from the study participants over a period of 10 years.

The study was conducted by The Maryland Medical Research Institute and funded by a grant from The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute with support from General Mills.