Study: Girls' happiness with bodies affects weight gain

Young overweight girls who feel good about their bodies gain less weight over time than overweight girls who do not, according to a University of Minnesota study published Tuesday.

The study followed nearly 500 overweight teens for a decade.

Author Katie Loth said nearly everyone in the study continued to gain weight over time, but the girls with the lowest levels of body satisfaction gained significantly more weight.

"What we need to do is help young people to feel good about themselves first," Loth said. "And then along with that work to help promote behavior change, but without such a focus on body weight."

Boys' attitudes about their bodies did not seem to make a difference in how many pounds they gained. Loth said overweight boys probably don't feel as much societal pressure to lose weight as girls and therefore they're less likely to engage in harmful weight-loss strategies that fail in the long-run.

The findings are published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.