From 1988 to 2008, the number of overweight 12-to-19-year-old Americans more than tripled. While the reasons for such a quick increase are subject to debate, the remedy isn't. Like adults, teens need to burn more calories than they ingest to lose weight. And like adults, they want quick results. Six quick steps can help teens lose weight.
Get Moving
Reverse the trend that a 9-year-old is 3.5 times more physically active than a 15-year-old by walking more. Don't drive or ask for a ride to school, activities, friends' houses or anywhere else--provided the path is safe. Walk around the block or pedal a stationary bike as you talk to or text friends on a cell phone.
Pick the harder way to handle chores. Rake leaves instead of using the leaf blower. Wash dishes by hand. Raise the garage door instead of using the remote. Opt for the manual instead of automatic way to do chores during the day, and you can burn about 100 extra calories a day. In just 18 days, that single change creates a loss of 1/2 lb.
Get Involved
Join a team sport at school, an aerobics class at a gym or a dance class at a studio. If you're not the athletic type, volunteer for a job that requires activity, like walking dogs at an animal shelter or aiding residents at a nursing home. Use these activities to replace another that has been clearly linked to gaining weight--watching too much TV.
Reduce TV Time
A study published in the April 2006 issue of Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine determined that children ate an average of 167 more calories per day for each additional hour they watched TV. An earlier study published in the March 25, 1998, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association found that boys and girls who watch four or more hours of television each day had greater body fat and a greater body mass index than those who watched less than two hours per day.
Eat Filling, Low-calorie Snacks
Proper snacking keeps your energy level constant throughout the day, but making poor snack choices caused the typical child's caloric consumption to increase by 160 between 1976 and 2006. To avoid this, snack on foods that are both low in calories and filling. Eat an orange rather than orange juice, grapes instead of raisins, whole grain-cereal instead of candy, reduced-fat popcorn instead of pretzels and potato chips, and low-fat skim milk instead of soda.
Pack a Lunch for School
Middle schoolers who eat a school lunch have a 38 percent higher chance of being overweight or obese compared to those who pack a lunch, according to a 2010 study done at the University of Michigan. While this difference may be influenced by other factors, it is true that packing and not carrying cash keeps you from buying that tempting pepperoni pizza or cheeseburger. Some items KidsHealth.org suggests are peanut butter and jelly on whole-grain bread, a thermos of chicken soup, hummus on pita bread, baby carrots with a yogurt dip, sunflower seeds, whole-grain pretzels and low-fat cheese.
Limit Sugary Beverages
Sugary calories you drink don't fill you up like solid food, so drinking them makes you more likely to consume too many calories and even crave other sweet, high-carbohydrate foods. Replace one soda, sugary beverage or energy drink with a glass of water every day and save up to 150 calories. Do that twice a day and in just 12 days that single change creates a loss of a pound.
References
- University of California: Physical Activity in Children Declines From 9 to 15
- "Science"; Interindividual Variation in Posture Allocation: Possible Role in Human Obesity; J.A. Levine; January 2005
- Healthy U: TV Watching and Calorie Intake in Children
- "Journal of the American Medical Association"; Relationship of Physical Activity and Television Watching with Body Weight and Level of Fatness Among Children: Results From the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; R.E. Anderson et al; March 25, 1998
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