As we all know
obesity aside from leading a person to sever health problems tends to affect the self esteem of young teenagers. In most cases, peers bully and tease these children who may be overweight when compared to the other children. This alone has a tendency to affect the way the child views themselves as well as having a profound influence upon their social life. Teenage obesity has continued to increase at a steady rate within the past 20 years and it is estimated that 12.5 million teens or 70% of the teenage population are currently overweight.
There are several factors which contribute to teenagers becoming overweight in America these days.
1. Poor eating habits. Not eating the right food at the right amount at the right time are the foremost reasons that contribute to obesity in teens. Fast food and soft drinks are the main culprits. Teens have become consistent customers of these fast food chains which have sprung up in all neighborhoods of America. The tendency to overeat the fast food selections plus the failure to eat at the proper time all contributing factors to these teen's
overweight problems. In addition, teenagers tend to eat a considerable quantity but are failing to get the proper nutrition from the foods that they do consume. Fast foods have shown to be an ideal means of eating particularly since most people are living a fast paced lifestyle.
2. Laziness and lack of exercise. Because of the technology that now offers automation in almost everything we do most of the tasks that require exerting some sort of effort has been effectively replaced with gadgets and other high tech stuff. Watching TV and computers are also contributed greatly to this obesity issue in teens. Teens spend more time in front of the TV or the computer while eating mostly junk food and consuming a vast amount of soft drinks instead of exercising and sweating.
3. Psychological factors. Stress, anxiety and especially depression may lead a teen to eat merely to pacify themselves. These are prominent factors which eventually will lead to obesity in the teenagers.
4. Medical conditions. Some disease conditions may cause a teen to be overweight such as thyroid problems.
5.Heredity. This is a situation where the overweight problem simply runs in the family.
These factors that contribute to
teenage obesity must be addressed in order to curtail the increasing number of teens who are currently overweight. There are many cases where the children die ahead of their parents merely because of obesity thus it is important to do something positive and address these issues immediately. The family especially the parents have a big role to play when resolving their teenage obesity.
