Friday, October 31, 2008

Weight Loss in Teens

By Christo Fouche

Investigating studies from the past we find more kids nowadays are mild to severely overweight. The 1999-2000 National health survey indicates that 15 % of children and teens are overweight.

The figure is nearly double that what was recorded a decade or so ago. Some blame their present lifestyle while others blame the lack of discipline in teens nowadays. Regardless of the reasons, teen weight problems are real.

But unlike weight loss programs for adults, teen weight loss programs are a little tricky since such programs when left uncheck can be potentially dangerous for their health. Because of the potential danger, dietitian and nutrition experts approach the subject with caution.

Teenagers are still developing and growing and cutting down their food intake will greatly influence their growth. It is therefore extremely important that diet programs for teens should cover all their nutritional needs.

For teenagers, they generally need to grasp some basic concepts about eating right. If they eat too little, their health will be put at risk. But similarly, if they eat more that they should, the extra food turns into body fat causing weight issues. Teenagers should learn to eat food less with saturated fats.

Foods high in fat include those fried in fat and oil like fried chicken, burgers, potato chips, french fries, potato chips and other fatty meat. On the other hand, they also should avoid foods that are high in fat and sugar contents like cakes, chocolates, butter, cream, peanut butter, pies, cookies, and generally any sweets and sweet desserts.

Several diet programs claim to be the best solutions for over weight teens. These claims generally revolve around two basic concepts which forms natural dietary habits: the right diet and regular exercise. In reality, the best way for teens to loose weight is still the having the right diet and right exercise. Teens should at all cost avoid the use of diet pills.

Most of the kids or teens today live on fast foods, get exceedingly large food portions and are really extremely lazy lacking the necessary sport activities to build a healthy body. Outdoor activities for teens can help them loose some of their excess body weight. When you cut grass use a push mower, for example. Try to engage in activities like playing ball which would help you exercise without even realizing it.

There's really no easy way to loose weight. You need to work the excess fat off your body on a regular basis. It is the right combination of diet and exercise which will help you loose weight quickly. But the problem with dieting and exercising is keeping motivated and goal oriented. Kids find dieting intimidating and regular exercise boring, but without it, they wont lose those pounds.

This is why the family should support them if you want your kids to loose some weight. You need to keep your kids and teens motivated and goal orientated. Encourage them and help them overcome their cravings by cooking, serving and eating the same food diets that they eat. Get them to be more active and take part in an enjoyable sport. If they find regular exercises boring, join them in other activities such as sports.

Teach them what to look for when they have something to eat at functions and outdoors. Tell them the benefits of foods and teach them how to read food labels and to check the ingredients. You may be able to control their diet while they stay home but when they go outside and eat with friends, then you might have a bigger problem to control their habits. It is therefore important in any diet to implant a sense of self discipline and pride in what they do and eat. - 15995

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