The Ugly Truth about Teen Obesity and What You Can Do To Stop It
Take a quick look around and you'll observe the costly obesity crisis that is slowly overtaking our nation. How bad has it become you may say? Consider the idea that we are now seeing individuals parking in handicap parking spots to avoid having to park just a few extra feet away from a building.
In all honesty, we can not totally place the blame for this on the individuals themselves. Several studies have shown that for a number of people, their chemical and genetic makeup aide in their body's ability to process certain fats. Sure being 100 plus pounds over weight might have been good in the Ice Age but today this is simply not the case.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in looking at childhood obesity and nutrition. Nutritionists estimate that for every point of body mass index a child is overweight by before puberty, the adult that child will grow into will be three points overweight by the time they're thirty. Type II diabetes, where body stress from overeating builds up resistance to insulin, is becoming more prevalent in teenagers.
Preteens, tweens and teenagers are also prone to body image dysmorphia, driven by peer pressure, social imaging and just the changes their body is going through. Being a teenager is hard enough as it is; it's even worse when you're carrying 40 or 60 extra pounds of body weight and alarmingly, the fastest growing market segment for diet products like SlimFast and MediFast are teenaged and younger girls.
The good news is that this trend can be stopped. In fact, you may be surprised at the simple solution.
Think back to when you were a kid. If there were video game consoles, they were things like the Atari 2600. Your friends came over in person, and you ran around outside and played in the park, running around with the excess energy that all children have.
If you felt tired or felt dehydrated, you immediately reached for a glass of water or milk. Sweets were a treat for good behavior rather than your main course. Snacks did not come prepackaged but rather apples, oranges and bananas were your choice.
This same attitude can be instilled in your kids, but you have to be strict about it. Keep your kids on the smallest amount of soda you can. If you do give your kids soda, give them diet soda, or a mixture of diet and regular; the key here is that you don't want to give them a sugar addiction early on. Humans are evolved to prefer sweet as a flavor, and the amount of sugar in a can of non diet soda has increased 30% since 1970.
As for snacks, limit their intake of high sugar and high fattening foods and increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables. This may not be as hard as you think. Consider this, if you kids are not of driving age and do not have a job, the only reason they are eating the way they are is because you as the parent purchase the unhealthy food in your kitchen. Trust me, if you don't buy it, they will immediately decrease their over consumption. Oh yeah, they'll complain however it is up to you to be the parent.
When it comes to leisure activities, encourage your kids to play sports - soccer, baseball, softball. Not all kids will have an aptitude for them, and some aren't ready to socialize in large groups when the rest of their age cohort is. For those kids, make time out every week to go on a hike for a mile or two. If you get in the habit of walking for a mile as a family every day after dinner, everyone will be healthier, and you'll be staving off the perils of the obesity epidemic.
Start early with your children. Sit down with them and honestly and directly explain why living a healthy lifestyle is important. If you are reading this today, you are the future of your family. An always remember, nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels.
In all honesty, we can not totally place the blame for this on the individuals themselves. Several studies have shown that for a number of people, their chemical and genetic makeup aide in their body's ability to process certain fats. Sure being 100 plus pounds over weight might have been good in the Ice Age but today this is simply not the case.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in looking at childhood obesity and nutrition. Nutritionists estimate that for every point of body mass index a child is overweight by before puberty, the adult that child will grow into will be three points overweight by the time they're thirty. Type II diabetes, where body stress from overeating builds up resistance to insulin, is becoming more prevalent in teenagers.
Preteens, tweens and teenagers are also prone to body image dysmorphia, driven by peer pressure, social imaging and just the changes their body is going through. Being a teenager is hard enough as it is; it's even worse when you're carrying 40 or 60 extra pounds of body weight and alarmingly, the fastest growing market segment for diet products like SlimFast and MediFast are teenaged and younger girls.
The good news is that this trend can be stopped. In fact, you may be surprised at the simple solution.
Think back to when you were a kid. If there were video game consoles, they were things like the Atari 2600. Your friends came over in person, and you ran around outside and played in the park, running around with the excess energy that all children have.
If you felt tired or felt dehydrated, you immediately reached for a glass of water or milk. Sweets were a treat for good behavior rather than your main course. Snacks did not come prepackaged but rather apples, oranges and bananas were your choice.
This same attitude can be instilled in your kids, but you have to be strict about it. Keep your kids on the smallest amount of soda you can. If you do give your kids soda, give them diet soda, or a mixture of diet and regular; the key here is that you don't want to give them a sugar addiction early on. Humans are evolved to prefer sweet as a flavor, and the amount of sugar in a can of non diet soda has increased 30% since 1970.
As for snacks, limit their intake of high sugar and high fattening foods and increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables. This may not be as hard as you think. Consider this, if you kids are not of driving age and do not have a job, the only reason they are eating the way they are is because you as the parent purchase the unhealthy food in your kitchen. Trust me, if you don't buy it, they will immediately decrease their over consumption. Oh yeah, they'll complain however it is up to you to be the parent.
When it comes to leisure activities, encourage your kids to play sports - soccer, baseball, softball. Not all kids will have an aptitude for them, and some aren't ready to socialize in large groups when the rest of their age cohort is. For those kids, make time out every week to go on a hike for a mile or two. If you get in the habit of walking for a mile as a family every day after dinner, everyone will be healthier, and you'll be staving off the perils of the obesity epidemic.
Start early with your children. Sit down with them and honestly and directly explain why living a healthy lifestyle is important. If you are reading this today, you are the future of your family. An always remember, nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels.
About the Author:
If your teen is obese, what options do you have? Author Dorthy Weatherbush has taken the guess work out of determining if your teen would benefit from a physician recommended meal replacement diet. Read more about her recommendations at http://www.StephensonandCompany.com
Postingan
Posting Komentar