Obesity In Teenagers
Obesity has been spreading like a pandemic all over the globe with the advanced nations taking the lead. The culture of the junk food that the kids are exposed to is one of the main reasons though not the only one. The developing nations are catching up fast with the same trend with the added disadvantage of insufficient health facilities to handle the complications that come along with obesity.
The obesity in parents often translates itself to the children due to the genetic factors and the life style of the family. Obese parents tend to eat and find difficulty in exercising. It is only natural that the children of these parents grow up following the same lifestyle. The result is obvious.
What is obesity? If you weigh more than your classmate, it does not necessarily means that you are obese. The weight of the body should be proportional to the height. People with a larger built would weigh more than those with a little smaller body structure. To make it easier for normal people, a Body Mass Index (BMI) is available for reference. The BMI is a number calculated from your weight and height. The BMI can be reliably used to measure fatness and therefore screen for weight categories that may lead to health problems.
When it come to the teenagers, the Body Mass Index also uses the age and sex of the person. This is because the amount of body fat changes with age and it differs between boys and girls.
Since this site is dedicated to the teens we would talk more with the perspective of the teenagers in mind.
Effects of Teen Obesity
Body image:
The teenagers are more conscious of their body than probably anyone else. They constantly explore relationships and find new friends and therefore their own body image plays a big role in their growing up. An obese teenager might develop a negative image of one’s own body which may lead to a very small friend circle or none at all. With no or few contacts, there is less to do which means the teen might spend more time at home on the computer or watching TV, all of which aggravates the situation further.
Depression:
Due to a poor self body image, a person may tend to keep away from social networking. This often results in teen depression which if not handled on time can complicate obesity as well as develop other health effects. A doctor can cure teen depression with or without any medication depending on the diagnosis.
Shorter life span:
Research has found that obese teens may have a shorter life span than the teens who have a normal body weight. The teens may not realize the implications at their age and therefore may tend to shrug off this effect of obesity. However, a shorter life span of a parent can be devastating for the kids.
Obese offspring:
It is often seen that obese parents give birth to obese children due to hereditary factors. This does not mean the children would be obese when they grow up. However, following the lifestyle of the parents, the children of obese parents tend to become overweight themselves.
Cure:
Healthy food:
Eating healthy food does not mean dieting by not eating anything or eating those “lose weight foods”. Your daily food becomes healthy if your diet is balanced in nutrition and if you eat a portion that is enough for you rather than over eating. Avoid food that are rich in sugar and fat. It is important to keep the use of junk foods from the fast food restaurants to the minimum. Drinking plain water or juice is much more healthier than drink a carbonated liquid.
Many teenagers in an attempt to lose weight fast try to stop eating and starve themselves or use methods that make them feel full without giving any nutrition to the body. Such methods do not make you lose weight. They create many health problems for sure.
Exercise:
The importance of exercising cannot be exaggerated. A regular exercise regimen helps to digest food better, tone up your muscles and give the necessary exercise to your heart while increasing the circulation of the blood all over the body. Regular exercising can allow you to eat the junk food you love once a while and not have any side effects on your weight.
The teens who exercise regularly have a glow on their face which gives them confidence to be attractive and make more friends.
Medical guidance:
If you are not able to reduce your weight by eating healthy food and exercising regularly, you might need to seek medical guidance to find out the causes of you being over weight. The teenagers have a lot of hormonal changes in their body and sometimes a hormonal imbalance may make you gain weight more than normal.
In a nutshell, obesity is nothing to be proud of. Fortunately in most cases it can be got rid of without any medication.