Self-esteem is most volatile during the teen years, and many adolescents -- particularly young girls -- struggle with weight issues at some point. Some are perceived, but others are real, and at any rate, it is important to encourage your children to be healthy while also finding comfort with their body type and who they are. Weight issues can become dangerous if they are approached in unhealthy ways, so it is important to give teenagers guidance in regard to how weight can and should be lost and how quickly it should be expected.
Exercise
Encourage your teen to be active most days of the week. Exercise and participation in sports can help with self-confidence, but more importantly, physical activity helps burn calories. By being active, your teenager can increase the number of calories burned in a day, which can help create a calorie deficit, leading to weight loss. Working out at a gym or with exercise equipment is an option, but most schools also feature participation sports where your child can be social while also getting some exercise.
Diet
It is important to eat a reduced-calorie diet that creates or contributes to a calorie deficit -- where your teen is eating fewer calories than he is burning in a day -- but this doesn't have to be drastic. In fact, drastic reduction of daily food consumption can be dangerous and harmful to the body's metabolism. Instead of starving, encourage your child to eat more fruits and vegetables, many of which are low in calories but filled with important vitamins and minerals. Encourage lean meats as a source of protein, and minimize the presence of foods high in fats and oils.
Support System
Teenagers struggling with weight issues likely have other troubles bothering them, even if it is nothing more than self-esteem issues resulting from being overweight. Regardless, make sure you communicate with your teenager about why she is losing weight and the struggles of doing so. Offer support and encouragement while also serving as a measure of accountability. Pull in friends and family members to help support your teen, and encourage her to stick to healthy lifestyle changes rather than attempting quick fixes.
Considerations
Eager as your teen might be to cut weight at a rapid rate, it's important to remember that safe weight loss is more effective than trying to shed pounds by crash dieting or starving yourself. Help her set realistic goals of losing 1 or 2 lbs. of weight each week -- on average. Your teen might lose more early on in her weight loss efforts, and the pounds may be harder to drop as the weeks wear on. Anything more than 2 lbs. a week is an unreasonable expectation. Not only could it be discouraging, it might also push your child to more dire -- and dangerous -- methods of losing weight.
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