According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adolescent obesity is a growing public health concern. This rise in the number of overweight and obese teens has led to an increase in the number of teenagers suffering from diabetes, cardiovascular disease and a plethora of other chronic health issues. If you are a teen worried about your weight, there are several things you can do to help you lose weight and become healthier.
Exercise
An increase in physical activity will assist you considerably in your fat-loss goals. The more physically active you are, the more calories you burn. This increase in calorie burn decreases the amount of calories stored around your body as fat and decreases the amount of calories you eat that are available to be stored as fat. Activities such as walking, biking, skating and sports can help you lose weight and have fun as well.
Diet
An unhealthy diet is one of the most common causes for a teenager being overweight. Many teens eat a lot of high-calorie foods with low nutritional value. You can cut calories by dropping processed foods, fast foods, soft drinks and sweets from your diet. Replace those foods with foods that have high protein and fiber content such as poultry, dairy, vegetables and fruit. This helps you eat fewer calories so that your body will burn its fat for energy.
Sleep
Getting a good night's sleep is critical in helping you lose weight. If you do not get adequate amounts of sleep, your metabolism will slow down. As a result, you will have low energy levels, which will make you more sedentary and keep you from burning fat through physical activity.
Dangers of Excess Weight
Being an overweight teen significantly raises your risk for many chronic medical conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, cancers and atherosclerosis; the risks increase during your adolescence as well as throughout adulthood.
References
- CDC: Obesity: Causes and Consequence
- "Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology"; A.C. Guyton; 2002
- American Academy of Pediatrics: Teenage Obesity
- "Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine (16th edition)"; Lawrence Madoff et al.; 2005
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