Not too long ago, America was looked upon as the country of ‘obese population’. Today, this is no longer true. As western influences, particularly western lifestyle habits, continue to make headway into the rest of the world very swiftly, obesity is slowly becoming a worldwide problem. As waistlines continue to become wider and buttocks larger in size, we wonder whether obesity is soon going to turn into an epidemic worldwide.
Fortunately, unlike several other harmful diseases, obesity is preventable as well as curable. In my opinion though, prevention is better than cure. An obese teenager not only suffers physically but also mentally. In fact, when it comes to teens, obesity begets obesity.
When obese teens are ridiculed at by their peers, they become depressed. Consequently, they try to find solace and comfort in junk foods and eat more and more of them. This in turn worsens their health. This is why it is a good to prevent gain by monitoring the health of your teenage kids right from an early stage.
In any case, it is never too late to begin, so let’s get started. First, let me tell you how obesity could harm a teen:
1. Obese teenagers often suffer from depression for the reasons I mentioned above. They also suffer from low-self esteem, inferiority complex and irritability.
2. Just like their adult counterparts, obese teens also suffer from physical diseases such as sleep apnea, coronary diseases, kidney problems, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. Additionally, recent studies point that that obese teens are more likely to die prematurely than teens of normal body .
3. Obesity can affect your child’s education and career in a big way. Obese teens are more likely to have their education and job applications rejected. They are less likely to get a cushy job as most companies consider the health of a prospect in a big way before employing him.
4. Obese teens are more likely to have marital troubles than others. It is no secret than obese people usually snore in sleep. Believe it or not, snoring is one of the leading causes behind the growing number of broken marriages and divorces.
5. An obese teen is very likely to live in social denial. Being used to mistreatment of the society since his childhood, he would eventually accept it as part of life and continue to allow others to mistreat him. As time goes by, he would become more and more depressed and might even want to end his life when the torture becomes too much to bear.
I am not exaggerating anything; I have seen so many obese teenagers grow and I can say that not many of them are leading happy lives as adults. If you wish to offer your kid a healthy, happy and long life, there are a few things you should do.
Teens take their parents as role models and follow their lifestyle habits. Therefore, you, as a responsible parent, can influence your kid’s lifestyle habits by following healthy habits yourself. Kids usually get attracted to junk foods after watching their parents enjoying them. By getting rid of your junk food habits and switching to healthy and organic foods, you would not only ensure a healthy and happy life for yourself but also your child.
Unless prescribed by a qualified doctor or nutritionist, a teenager shouldn’t be given any kind of diet pill or loss supplement. Many of these pills and supplements have harmful side effects which may do more harm than good to your teen kid.
Encouraging him to indulge in performance activities is another good way to overcome teenage obesity. These days, teenagers indulge more in video games and the like instead of playing sports which make them sweat, such as tennis, volleyball, baseball, etc. However you can reverse it by actively participating in these sports. As your teenage kid sees that you are enjoying a certain sport, he would soon emulate you and play it.
Remember that as a parent you are fully capable of influencing your kid’s lifestyle. Use that power now to insure a healthy and positive life for your teenage kid. Remember that it is never too late to begin.