No Easy Way To Lower Teen Obesity

Health Wellness

Nearly 14 million children and teens in this country are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Over the last 30 years, research shows that teen obesity risen while the percentage of teens trying to lose weight has declined.

That may be due in part to a growing acceptance of different body sizes, says psychologist Dr. Leslie Heinberg of the Cleveland Clinic.

“That’s a good thing,” she said. “Where the flip side of that may be is that there could be less motivation to make changes when changes are needed, when people are having deleterious health effects because of their weight.”

The study which looked at different groups of teens ages 16 to 19 over 3 decades.

Researchers found that between the earliest group and the most recent survey group, the percentage of teens who were overweight and obese climbed 22 to 34-percent.

At the same time, the number of teens reporting weight loss efforts dropped from about 34 percent to 27 percent.

While obesity is a growing problem in the the U.S, Heinberg says it’s important for teens to use healthy methods for weight control and lifestyle changes. That includes increasing physical activity, cutting back on eating out and consuming more fruits and vegetables.

Without proper guidance on healthy habits, teens who want to lose weight often choose skipping meals, using diet pills or other unhealthy eating disorder behaviors.

Unlike teens of 30 years ago, the current generation has more information at their fingertips,and not all that information is helpful.

“”There is a lot of diet information out in the world, on the internet, on social media,” Heinberg said. “The vast majority of it is not helpful. The vast majority of it sets people up for weight re-gain, sets people up for developing bad habits.”

Children Diet Obesity

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