Epidemic: Obesity

By Jess Burks

Obesity among America’s teen population is becoming a rising epidemic. What is the country doing to its children? Why are the parents not involved enough in their children’s lives to educate them, even a little, on healthy eating? Being healthy is habit forming and should be instilled at a young age.

According to www.life123.com/, 17 percent of teens between the ages of 12 and 17 are obese. This number is shocking. This is unacceptable for parents to allow their children to suffer and unknowingly harm themselves.

This damage is incredibly obvious. First, there are numerous health problems that are more likely to develop in obese people. A long list of health problems is listed. This list on www.life123.com/ includes high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma, high cholesterol, bone disease, joint problems, gallstones, gastrointestinal diseases, and heart disease, just to name a few. This list of health problems is directly related to obesity; however, there’s another long list of health problems that can develop due to obesity.

Psychologically, teens are very dependent on what their friends think about them. Teens bully others and are very judgmental. This pressure and ridicule from teens, especially friends, can be very difficult for an obese teen to endure on top of his or her low self-esteem. According to ezinearticles.com/, teens may become even more obese because of these pressures. Signs of psychological unhealthiness can include having few friends, eating more than usual or not enough, sleeping a lot or not enough, a reluctance to go to school, etc. These psychological problems can be just as harmful as medical problems to a teen.

These lists of health problems can be very discouraging, however. Parents as role models to children should become active in educating their teens and helping him or her transition into a healthier lifestyle. This doesn’t mean to go on diets or use diet pills, which can harm your child more than help them and can make him or her even more obese. According to obesity.ygoy.com/obesity-teens/, there are three main reasons why teens are obese: They watch too much TV, they eat too much and they do not exercise enough. They can be condensed to two main reasons: Your teen is eating too much unhealthy food for his or her activity.

In order to help remedy these problems, the parents are going to have to get involved with helping their child. According to www.webmd.com/, studies have shown that parents who feed their children balanced breakfasts can help them obesity. This study says that children who eat a balanced breakfast are more active throughout the day and eat less at lunch and dinner and less of a tendency to snack. Also, parents should get their child to participate in a recreational sport. He or she can make new friends and play around while participating in activity.

Keep children away from the TV. The TV can be a very entertaining device, but it causes lethargy and distracts teens from their activities. If it is a nice day outside, get the child to help a parent in the garden, or get him or her to rake leaves. There are many chores around a house that require physical activity. The parent should make sure when the child sits down to eat, the TV, computer, radio, etc. are off. This can distract from the teen realizing that he or she is full and overeats. Serve the teen smaller portions; the stomach is very expandable, and the teen may be slightly hungry for the next few days, but his or her stomach will adjust. Finally, keep unhealthy foods out of the house. This way the child will not be tempted to sneak a few snacks while the parents are not looking.

These changes in lifestyle will not only be for teens, but will also require that a parent be a role model in eating well and being active with their child. As the child sees the parent do this more and more, he or she will begin to form healthy habits and soon lose weight and feel healthier.