Teenage Obesity

6/22/2010

Epidemic would be one way to describe America's crisis with teenage obesity. It is believed that over 19 million children of school age are overweight or obese.

Obesity is a medical diagnosis based on a person's body mass index (BMI), a number relating the relationship of fat to the rest of the body's makeup. A person is considered obese if their BMI is 30 or over.

Some visible characteristics of obesity are facial swelling or uneven features, excess fat of arms, legs, and abdomen, and breast development in young men.

The cause of obesity is a combination of heredity and environment. Having obese parents makes a child nearly 50% more likely to encounter teenage obesity than children without obesity in their family. Children in poor or undereducated areas tend to have a higher probability of obesity than children in well-to-do, status-driven society. Being a minority also increases the likelihood of being overweight. Life in the fast lane combined with a less physical lifestyle greatly increases obesity probability.

Being obese is not the worst part of the epidemic. Obesity increases a child's, or adult's, chances of diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart attack, stroke, arthritis, and other serious medical conditions. Obese individuals tend to eat an unbalanced diet, high in fat and cholesterol, without needed exercise, and therefore succumb to these life-threatening conditions.

Even if relatively healthy, the weight itself begins to break down the skeletal framework, affecting walking, running, and climbing steps. This leads to back and knee trouble and arthritis, for example. Depression often results from the social stigmas attached to obesity and the lower self-esteem that results. These considerations make living healthy and finding a healthy weight even more important.

Realizing that fad diets and extreme crash diets simply do not work, typically causing more weight gain, what does work? Put aside quick fixes like liposuction, surgery, and pills. You can't change your heredity or ethnic makeup, AND you can't (quickly) change social status.

What is left is lifestyle, eating habits, and physical routines. Choosing quick, fast foods increases the amount of fat, cholesterol, salt, and preservatives in the food eaten. To combat teenage obesity, parents must take an active role in providing healthier food choices, even when on the go. Fruit rather than candy, lean white meat rather than red meats. These are a few quick and easy changes that can begin turning life around. Keeping well-hydrated is vital to healthy living, and water is a much better choice than soft drinks and flavored drinks like kool-aid. Choosing a physically active life-style and providing opportunities for outside activity is good for the heart.

There is no ideal in body shape and size. Society must stop telling every teen that he or she must be a model to be beautiful. The pressure is simply unbearable. But there is an optimal range in which a person will feel most vital, given their height, body chemistry, and age.

There are some general guidelines. Getting the BMI lower can bring a person toward their healthy weight. One indicator is waist size. For most, a man's waist should be under 40 in. and a woman's under 35 in. Seeking the help of a medical professional and having the support of family must be part of a teenager's fight against obesity.

Ashley, a teenager herself, made a fitness DVD to help combat Teenage Obesity


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