These statistics, gathered from a national study on 3,914 females between the ages of 14 to 22, caught my eye:

- The young women gained an average of seven pounds between 2001 and 2005.

- The young women who exercised the most — five or more days a week — and limited their portion sizes gained about three pounds over four years compared to the seven-pound average.

- Those who exercised at least once a week and either ate a low-fat diet or limited their portion sizes gained about 5½ pounds.

At first I was stunned that girls who had nutritious eating habits and worked out at least once a week gained 5.5 pounds. I was even more surprised that those who ate small portions and worked out at least five times a week still gained three pounds. How could this be? What does this mean for the rest of us who never work out and slurp double-whip mocha lattes five days a week?

Then I realized that the girls they surveyed were between junior high (14) and college (22) ages. Of course they’re gaining weight, they’re going through puberty! Their bodies are changing from little girl to grown-up. We should be alarmed if they aren’t gaining weight, because that would mean they aren’t going through the proper stages of adolescence.

The article says that “most of the older girls had reached their full maturity and their weight gain was more likely to be unhealthy.” I’m not a doctor, but even at 18, 19 and 20, it seems like girls could still be growing. That means that maybe 10% were close to full maturity.

And we wonder why young women have body issues. What are your thoughts?