Teens need support and guidance when they are trying to lose weight, much the same as adults. Yet it is much more important to treat obesity or overweight in children and teens because, as the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry reports, untreated obesity in children and teens sets up a lifetime of low self-esteem and the potential for anxiety, depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Helping a teen to lose weight is not easy, but it can enhance her life forever.
Step 1
Talk with your teen about losing weight. You cannot make your teen lose weight so it's important that he wants to get to a normal weight and eat healthy. If the teen has come to you to discuss weight loss listen to what he has to say before offering a plan of help. If you want to approach the topic yourself, find a time when your child is relaxed and begin the conversation with supportive statements, followed by an offer of help: "I love you and have noticed that your weight is bothering you. When you are ready to lose weight, I'm here to help you." Then let the conversation go from there. Don't blame the teen for the weight gain, but offer support for aiding weight loss.
Step 2
Model healthy eating. If the teen is overweight make sure that there are healthy choices in your home and offer healthy, portion-controlled meals. You may not be able to monitor what the teen eats at school or when she is out with friends, but you can make sure that the foods in your home are healthy and in proper quantities. The USDA food pyramid offers a guideline for the types of food that should be included in a teen's diet and tips on sodium and fat intake.
Step 3
Exercise as a family. Take a family walk, train for a 5K as a family or start regular driveway basketball games. Your teen will be more likely to add physical activity to his routine if there's a good reason to do it, so you may want to start an incentive program--new clothes or tickets to a concert--where a reward will follow a successful exercise program. The USDA recommends 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per day to aid weight loss. Making exercise a priority and a routine will help your teen develop lifelong habits towards good health.
Step 4
Consider joining an established weight loss group with a program for teens, such as Weight Watchers, where weight can be monitored in privacy. Not all teens want to have the family participate in their weight loss, so joining an established group can offer support as well as an eating and exercise plan. Be available to get your teen to and from the weekly meetings and also be there to support her successes along the way.
Step 5
Engage the help of a physician or other health care provider if your teen needs help understanding the health risks of being overweight. Learning the costs of being overweight, including risks for early death, being left out of sports, kidney problems, breathing problems and skin problems, will give additional incentive for weight loss.
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