Teenage girls in today's society are under a lot of pressure to fit in, particularly if they are overweight, whether it is by 10 lbs. or 50. A young girl's perception of herself can be extremely fragile and must be handled with gentle hands. Guide her carefully on her weight loss journey, helping her choose a diet that meets all her needs.
Teen Obesity
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry reports between 16 and 33 percent of children and adolescents are obese. One cause is genetics -- if one parent is obese, a child's risk is 50 percent, but if both parents are obese the risk factor increases to 80 percent. Aside from poor eating habits and lack of exercise, stress arising from divorce or abuse can result in weight gain, as can medical conditions and medications. Overweight teens tend to be less popular and have a lower self-esteem, both of which can contribute to emotional problems.
Focus On Healthy Eating
Talk to your teen and help her understand the importance of healthy eating and behaviors rather than being fat or thin. This can be difficult for a 16-year old girl, especially when peer pressure is an issue. However, if you do not help her set realistic goals and keep her focused on reaching an ideal weight for her age and height, she may become too thin and face health complications as a result.
Eliminate Dangerous Methods
Some teen girls are desperate enough to try fad diets such as the grapefruit diet, or use one of the many diet pills advertised on TV. Explain to your daughter the dangers of these. Fad diets often reduce caloric intake beyond a healthy level and deprive the body of necessary vitamins and minerals. In most cases, users gain the weight back. Diet pills have many side effects such as nervousness, heart palpitations and the risk of heart attacks. These methods do not teach you better eating habits, a necessity when trying to lose weight and keep it off permanently.
Eat Breakfast
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, especially for teens. Without it, they tend to eat more through the day. Their foods of choice tend to be sweets, fast food and processed food such as potato chips, explains the Australian Government Department of Health and Aging. Breakfast, whether it be a bowl of high-fiber cereal or nuts with a piece of fruit, will fire up her metabolism and ward off hunger as she carries on with her day.
Promote a Variety of Food
Offer your 16-year-old a variety of healthy foods to choose from. Replace the sweets in your home with fruit. Stock up on vegetables. Purchase whole grain bread instead of white. Swap white rice for brown. Choose whole wheat pasta for the traditional made with white flour. Switch to nonfat dairy products and reduce saturated fats by choosing white-meat poultry and fish over red meat, olive oil instead of vegetable and egg substitutes. For snack, purchase low-calorie ice cream or sherbet. Portion control is the key, no matter what she eats. Have everyone in your home use salad plates for meals rather than dinner plates. This shows your support for her effort.
Encourage Regular Exercise
Weight loss and exercise go hand-in-hand. The Mayo Clinic states that teens need 60 minutes of exercise each day. Breaking it up into shorter intervals is just as effective if necessary. Make mowing the yard one of her chores, offer to play a game of basketball with her or take an evening walk together. The more time you spend supporting her, the greater her chances for success.
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