If you're a 16-year-old boy struggling to control your weight, you're not alone. The proportion of obese teens in the U.S. is rising. Between the years 1980 and 2008, the percentage of obese teens between ages 12 to 19 rose from 5 percent to just over 18 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No single pill or exercise form alone will facilitate weight loss in all teenage boys, but there are a lot of sensible steps you can take to shed some pounds and improve your health.
See Your Doctor
A healthy weight isn't about getting six-pack abs like a supermodel, but about maintaining your own ideal weight. The best way to determine whether you need to lose weight is to talk to your doctor. She can compare your weight with that of other 16-year-old boys of the same height to determine whether you're in a healthy range. If your weight is at or above the 85th percentile for all 16-year-old boys of your height, your doctor may recommend that you make some changes in your diet and activity level to lose weight.
Get Moving
Consider your hobbies. If you like to spend most of your time with video games, social networking websites and television shows, you're probably not getting enough exercise. Most teens need about 60 minutes of exercise every day, but that doesn't mean you need to sign up for your school's football team or pay for a gym membership. The exercise you do each day can be broken up into smaller bursts of at least 10 minutes, and it can be as simple as skateboarding with your friends, playing a dance-oriented video game, walking your dog and riding your bike to school. To get more exercise, limit your screen time to about two hours per day.
Focus on Fruits and Vegetables
Aim for five a day of your fruits and vegetables, and include at least one of each in every meal. Fruits and vegetables are filling and contain the vitamins and minerals you need to grow into a healthy body. When you eat snacks like bananas, fresh celery with peanut butter and frozen grapes you are less likely to overeat high-calorie snacks like cookies and chips. Other items on a healthy daily diet include whole grains such as oatmeal and brown rice; low-fat or nonfat dairy foods; lean proteins such as fish, beans and nuts; and at least eight servings of water.
Eat Only When Hungry
Only eat when your stomach signals hunger, not when you're bored, depressed or just craving sugar. Eating out of habit rather than hunger can cause you to eat too many calories, which can pack on extra pounds. Find ways to avoid eating when you don't actually need food, and keep an eye on how much you're putting in your stomach. For example, eat only at the kitchen table, never in front of the television, and place only one serving of potato chips in a bowl when you need a study-time snack rather than bringing the whole bag over. If you find yourself mindlessly opening the fridge or pantry when you're bored, step outside with a bottle of water and find another hobby to keep your mind occupied.
References
- Health Services at Columbia University; Weight Loss Tricks for Big and Chunky Teens?; April 2002
- The Nemours Foundation; How Can I Lose Weight Safely?; February 2009
- MayoClinic.com: Teen Weight Loss: Healthy Habits Count
- The Nemours Foundation; Five Ways to Reach a Healthy Weight; August 2010
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Childhood Obesity
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: About BMI for Children and Teens
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