KidsHealth reports that 1 in every 3 children is considered obese. This is a staggering statistic that may help motivate you to help your teen. If your teen is suffering from obesity, it is essential that you work with her to bring her weight under control. Obese teens are at an increased risk for heart disease and diabetes as well as mental health issues that stem from low self-esteem. KidsHealth recommends making an appointment with your teen's doctor and to implement a few tricks into your teen's daily routine to help her burn calories and eat less food.
Get Moving While Watching Television
Time spent in front of the television or computer screen is time that your teen could be spending exercising. Restrict your teen's screen time, recommends KidsHealth, and encourage physical activity at the same time. Let your teen know how much time he has to watch television, play video games and use the computer and then encourage him to use some of his new free time to get active. Another tip is to encourage your teen to jump rope, do push ups or simply march in place while he watches his favorite television show. This tip will begin the weight loss process without deprivation so he is more likely to find the motivation to continue.
Eliminate Soda
Soda is one of the main culprits of teen weight gain because it is easy to consume, but contains over 100 calories per serving. Many teens drink three or four sodas a day, which translates to significant caloric intake. Healthy Children notes that eliminating soda from your teen's diet is one trick that will lead to an immediate and drastic drop in daily calorie consumption. Encourage your teen to drink water or unsweetened tea instead because these are nutritious and do not contain any calories.
Use Smaller Plates
Many teens are raised to clean their plates, KidsHealth notes, and plate size influences how much your teen consumes. Use a small plate when serving meals to your teen, because even if your teen fills it, she will not be eating as many calories as before. Teach your teen to visually divide her plate into three sections. Two smaller sections should contain meats and starches, such as potatoes or rice. The third section should be larger and contain plenty of fruits or vegetables. A smaller plate will prevent your teen from feeling deprived because she will still be able to eat everything she puts on it, but at less of a calorie cost than using a larger plate.
Challenge Your Teen
If you challenge your teen to a healthy eating contest, it will teach him how to make healthier and lower calorie food choices. Create a chart for your teen and one for you that contains grids to keep track of fruit and vegetable consumption as well as to record consumption of empty calorie foods, such as fast food, soda and sweets. Run the contest for a week and challenge your teen to see who can eat the most healthy foods and the least unhealthy foods. If your teen participates, he will be consuming far fewer calories and will begin to shed pounds. He will also learn to identify unhealthy foods so he can find more nutritious alternatives.
Member Comments