People with low incomes are less likely to opt for healthy weight loss strategies than their wealthier counterparts.

Money makes the world go round! Income has always been a major influencing factor when it comes to a healthier lifestyle. Supporting this belief, a new study found that low-income people are less likely to opt for healthy weight loss strategies than their wealthier counterparts.

"We found that compared to persons of higher household incomes, both youths and adults of lower household incomes were less likely to use strategies that are consistent with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommendations, which include reducing fats and sweets and increasing exercise," said lead author Lisa Kakinami, a postdoctoral fellow at McGill University, in a press statement.

The study was conducted on 6,035 adults and 3,250 youths, who were part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), conducted between 1999 and 2010. All participants were divided into four income groups - under $20,000; $20,000 to $44,999; $45,000 to $74,999; and at or above $75,000.

Researchers noted that participants belonging to the under $20,000 income group were 50 percent less likely to indulge in physical activities while dieting, 42 percent less likely to drink lots of water to lose weight and 25 percent less likely to cut down on the consumption of fats and sweets. Kakinami and her team also noticed that youths with low income were more likely to use strategies that were inconsistent with the recommendations, including purging, fasting and skipping meals.

The study found that youths belonging to the bottom two income groups were 2.5 times more likely than their wealthier counterparts to use multiple weight-loss strategies that are against public health recommendations.

Explaining their findings, the researchers said that the lack of extra funds may compel lower income individuals to do away with certain weight loss recommendations like joining a gym to workout. However, things like not drinking enough water cannot be explained by finances. Authors of the study also added that other poverty stresses might be held accountable for individuals opting for weight loss strategies that are not recommended.

"This is the first study to explicitly assess the link between poverty and actual weight loss behaviors," Scott Kahan, M.D., MPH, director of the National Center for Weight and Wellness said in the statement. "The new data suggest that the poorest among us, who are already disproportionately hurt by overweight and obesity, may also be wasting money on unproven and perhaps dangerous weight loss products."

The study was published online in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.