Being very obese as an adolescent has a lot of serious health risks associated with it. It is recognizable but a very hard risk to deal with. Obesity is only rising and it is a preventable death in America. The rising of adolescent obesity is the teens lifestyle and eating lots of junk food. This is blamed for a hundred thousand deaths per year.
Most people think obesity is the same as overweight is could not be further from the truth. Gaining a few pounds makes someone overweight but when you total body weight is min 10% more than the recommended weight for his or her body structure and height then he or she is considered obese. Many millions of dollars are spent on this problem of obesity. Its important to treat the problem early in life because children who are obese between the ages of 10 and 13 have 80% more change to grow into an obese adult unless they change their lifestyle into a healthier one. This problem starts at the age of 5 and continues to adolescence.
Complex reasons including biological, cultural, genetic, and behavioral can be causes of obesity. When a person consumes more calories then a body burns they get obese. There is a percentage of chance that when one parent is obese that the child will be obese but this percentage increases to 81% when both parents are obese. Some people can have health reasons for obesity which can be caused by health disorders. There are several causes of adolescent obesity, like overeating, family history of obesity, emotional problems, stressful life, bad eating habits, little or no exercise, low self esteem,depression, medications and family problems.
Diabetes, sleeping disorders, high blood pressure, breathing problems, emotional problems and increased heart attack risk are some of the many problems being obese brings with it. Teens have more emotional problems, some of them associated with low self esteem, which in turn can cause depression, obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety.
Adolescents who want to tackle the obesity problem should approach a pediatrician who will thoroughly evaluate the cause. If no physical disorder is to be blamed, the weight is reduced by limiting the calorie intake and increasing physical activity. The doctor can advice a weight management program and change the eating habits of the teenager, slowly. The patient must avoid oily, fatty, fast and junk food. The potions must be reduced in order to decrease the calorie intake. If the adolescent has developed emotional problems because of obesity, an adolescent psychiatrist can collaborate with the pediatrician in order to make a comprehensive plan for treatment. The plan includes reasonable goals, behavior modification, family participation, and management of physical activity.
Self motivation is extremely necessary in loosing weight. Because obesity is more a family problem and not an individual problem, the whole family can switch to eating healthy food and exercising regularly. This can make the weight control program a success. Parents can play a major role by boosting the self esteem of their children by concentrating on their strengths and encouraging them, instead of targeting the weight problem. The whole family should eat meals together, instead of eating individually while watching a movie. This helps all the members to focus on the food and the quantity being eaten. If the teenager isn't getting support from his family members, he/she can join support groups which can help towards the goals.
After the adolescent has lost weight, it is very important that he/she maintains it. In majority of the cases, people shift back to their old eating habits after loosing weight. That is the reason why obesity is more of a lifetime issue. So the main aim of any weight loss program must be make the adolescent like healthy food. He/she must also be made to exercise regularly, irrespective of the weight.
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