The objective of this article was to identify, among the members of the 1982 birth cohort in Pelotas, those who were trying to lose weight at the age of 23, and which strategies they used. From 2004 to 2005, 4,297 individuals from the 1982 cohort were interviewed. The effects of demographic, socioeconomic and behavioral factors on the prevalence of any strategy to lose weight in the past year were assessed in a cross-sectional analysis with the Poisson regression. Out of all the youngsters interviewed, 28.5% reported having used some strategy to lose weight. In the adjusted analysis, gender, schooling, family income, body mass index and smoking were associated with the use of some strategy. The strategy used by most of the young people was diet followed by physical activity. The results showed that appropriate preventive measures and body weight control are necessary, along with public policies aimed at encouraging healthy habits among young people, including physical and dietary education.