How Parents Can Deal With Overweight Teens

Parents are finding it more difficult to deal with the problems of overweight in their teens, at the same time governments all over the developed societies are becoming more and more concern. In the US alone 1 in every 5 teenagers is said to be overweight. The world health organization is also very worried about this trend. The truth is, if this malaise is not arrested in time it may become a major health problem capable of causing death in teens.

So, how can concerned parents help their teens deal with the problems of obesity or overweight? Many parents think that by placing their teens on a low carbohydrate diets like Atkins, south beach diets, sugar buster diets, etc., is the solution to obesity or overweight. However, experts believe that by placing your teens on low carbohydrate diets, you may be denying them of the necessary nutrients their bodies need for healthy growth. So the first advise for parents is not to stop their teen from taking carbohydrate.

If you are worried about your overweight teenager and truly want to help tackle this problem, the following can help. First, it is important to understand that effective weight loss program begins from the inside, yes, from the mind. Without taking charge of the mindset, everything you do on the outside will just be a waste of time and you will discover that after an initial progress, your teen will likely return to weight gain because the mindset has not been properly programmed.

Parents should try not have to nag or worry their teens because they are overweight, this is can be counter productive. To achieve good success you have to be part of whatever program you are initiating. That way teens feel more secure and do not feel discriminated. The family life style and eating habits have to change, foods have to be prepared at home and fast or junk foods have to be discouraged but not to be totally abandoned. Once in a while the family can take a journey to the fast food restaurants, but only as a treat. Some of these restaurants now offer foods low in fats and sugar with some vegetables. Try to drink more water instead of sugary beverages.

Carbohydrates rich foods, like Breads, potatoes, rice, and pasta, is good and should be prepared in very healthy and delicious ways that will provide important nutrients for growing children and teens. When preparing foods try to avoid deep frying, instead introduce grilling, roasting steaming, and baking.

Consumption of unhealthy fats should be completely reduced. If properly controlled in teens serious diseases like cardiovascular disease and cancer will be rare in the long run. These are some of the things that parents should explain to their teens. Usually the implication of overweight is not felt at the teen age.You have to watch your teens calorie intake, and part of the new eating habits should include the regulation of portions and sizes, over feeding must be discouraged.

A point I would like to stress here is the importance of involving teens in regular outdoor exercises, find out what kind of sports that interest them and encourage participation. All these efforts will be wasteful and of no effect if at the end of the day your teen is spending so much time chatting on the internet or watching their favorite TV programs, they would end up as couch potatoes and so must not be allowed. I understand that it can sometimes be difficult for parents to know the proper choice of foods to facilitate weight lose in their teens.

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