In some cases, an overweight teen becomes obsessed with losing weight and pushes the pendulum to the other end of the scale. The opposite side of obesity is anorexia and bulimia, which are more dangerous.
It is very difficult to understand how anorexia and bulimia affects people who may look healthy and a normal size weight. For many sufferers, they see themselves as fat and undesirable, and they usually lack self confidence and self esteem. They may feel this because they have been laughed at when they were younger, or it can be that they are just too shy or embarrassed to discuss how they feel.
Those suffering from either anorexia or bulimia are at risk. Their health will be compromised if their eating problems are not diagnosed early. What you need to do is get to the root of their problem and discuss how they feel about themselves. Find out why they feel that they need to lose the weight in such a manner. Then you can look at ways in which you can help them to combat this problem.
People who are suffering from anorexia or bulimia will most likely need professional help. There are plenty of self help groups which assist with these eating disorders.
How do I recognize if my teen is suffering from an eating problem?
Unfortunately, most people, especially children, are good at hiding the symptoms related to eating problems. But here are some signs that should help.
1. The color of their skin. Does it have a healthy glow or is it dull and pale?
2. Eyes - are they bright or dull?
3. Hair – It is full and shiny or has it become dull, flat and thinning?
4. Legs and Arms – Have they got good tone, or do they look just like skin and bone?
5. Have their energy levels decreased?
6. Teenage Girls – Has their menstrual cycle altered in any way?
Discreetly watch your teen's bathroom habits. Are they constantly going to the bathroom after they have eaten in order to purge the food from their body? Do they have loose stools and stomach cramps because they are taking laxatives?
Teenagers who are suffering from anorexia will often play with the food, or say they are not hungry or that they ate earlier when they were out with their friends. Others may skip breakfast and just grab something on the way school, or they won’t take their lunch to school. Discreetly check with the school to see if they are eating meals at school. Speak to their friends and find out what they are eating when they are with them. However, it is important that you do not pry too much, or it will lead to them only hiding the problem from you even more.
If you are able to, monitor what they are reading and logging onto on the internet.
If your teen losses a dramatic amount of weight in a short period of time, it could signal a larger issue. Weight gain is an issue, but critical weight loss is even more alarming.
Conclusion
There are number of ways to help a teen to cope with their obesity, as well as helping them lose weight safely.
Often, obesity treatment programs which have been devised for teens rarely have weight loss as a goal, but rather they aim to slow or halt any weight gain so the teen will grow into their body weight over the next few months or years. It is estimated that for every 20% excess body weight a teen has, they will need about 1½ years weight maintenance to obtain their ideal body weight.
So, early and appropriate intervention on the part of the parent is particularly valuable. Modifying a teen's eating and exercise habits is much easier to do than with an adult.
The three forms of intervention that a parent could use are:
Physical Activity
By adopting a formal exercise program, or just simply becoming more active, you help burn fat and increase the amount of energy a teen expends. Studies have shown that exercise, as well as one of the other form of intervention, is a successful way to help a teen lose weight safely.
Diet
It is advisable that you do not allow your teen to fast or drastically reduce their calorie intake. Not only is this way of losing weight psychologically stressful on them, but it may adversely affect their growth. Make sure they have a balanced diet, with moderate restrictions on the amount of calories they consume.
Your teen may need to be educated on the nutritional values of foods so they are aware of what foods are most beneficial for them.
Modification of a Teens Behavior
There are many behavioral strategies that are used on adults, which can be successfully applied to teens, such as:
1. Self monitoring and recording the food they eat
2. Increased physical activity
3. Slowing the rate at which they eat their food
4. Limiting the time and place they eat
5. Provide them with rewards and incentives
Hopefully you are inspired to help your teen with any weight issues they have. However, it is easier to prevent a teen from being overweight, than it is to treat it.
Where prevention is concerned, it focuses on educating the parents about providing their children with a good nutritional diet and plenty of physical activity. It's also important to help teens build their self esteem, and address any psychological issues that they have.
By :brown Michael
It is very difficult to understand how anorexia and bulimia affects people who may look healthy and a normal size weight. For many sufferers, they see themselves as fat and undesirable, and they usually lack self confidence and self esteem. They may feel this because they have been laughed at when they were younger, or it can be that they are just too shy or embarrassed to discuss how they feel.
Those suffering from either anorexia or bulimia are at risk. Their health will be compromised if their eating problems are not diagnosed early. What you need to do is get to the root of their problem and discuss how they feel about themselves. Find out why they feel that they need to lose the weight in such a manner. Then you can look at ways in which you can help them to combat this problem.
People who are suffering from anorexia or bulimia will most likely need professional help. There are plenty of self help groups which assist with these eating disorders.
How do I recognize if my teen is suffering from an eating problem?
Unfortunately, most people, especially children, are good at hiding the symptoms related to eating problems. But here are some signs that should help.
1. The color of their skin. Does it have a healthy glow or is it dull and pale?
2. Eyes - are they bright or dull?
3. Hair – It is full and shiny or has it become dull, flat and thinning?
4. Legs and Arms – Have they got good tone, or do they look just like skin and bone?
5. Have their energy levels decreased?
6. Teenage Girls – Has their menstrual cycle altered in any way?
Discreetly watch your teen's bathroom habits. Are they constantly going to the bathroom after they have eaten in order to purge the food from their body? Do they have loose stools and stomach cramps because they are taking laxatives?
Teenagers who are suffering from anorexia will often play with the food, or say they are not hungry or that they ate earlier when they were out with their friends. Others may skip breakfast and just grab something on the way school, or they won’t take their lunch to school. Discreetly check with the school to see if they are eating meals at school. Speak to their friends and find out what they are eating when they are with them. However, it is important that you do not pry too much, or it will lead to them only hiding the problem from you even more.
If you are able to, monitor what they are reading and logging onto on the internet.
If your teen losses a dramatic amount of weight in a short period of time, it could signal a larger issue. Weight gain is an issue, but critical weight loss is even more alarming.
Conclusion
There are number of ways to help a teen to cope with their obesity, as well as helping them lose weight safely.
Often, obesity treatment programs which have been devised for teens rarely have weight loss as a goal, but rather they aim to slow or halt any weight gain so the teen will grow into their body weight over the next few months or years. It is estimated that for every 20% excess body weight a teen has, they will need about 1½ years weight maintenance to obtain their ideal body weight.
So, early and appropriate intervention on the part of the parent is particularly valuable. Modifying a teen's eating and exercise habits is much easier to do than with an adult.
The three forms of intervention that a parent could use are:
Physical Activity
By adopting a formal exercise program, or just simply becoming more active, you help burn fat and increase the amount of energy a teen expends. Studies have shown that exercise, as well as one of the other form of intervention, is a successful way to help a teen lose weight safely.
Diet
It is advisable that you do not allow your teen to fast or drastically reduce their calorie intake. Not only is this way of losing weight psychologically stressful on them, but it may adversely affect their growth. Make sure they have a balanced diet, with moderate restrictions on the amount of calories they consume.
Your teen may need to be educated on the nutritional values of foods so they are aware of what foods are most beneficial for them.
Modification of a Teens Behavior
There are many behavioral strategies that are used on adults, which can be successfully applied to teens, such as:
1. Self monitoring and recording the food they eat
2. Increased physical activity
3. Slowing the rate at which they eat their food
4. Limiting the time and place they eat
5. Provide them with rewards and incentives
Hopefully you are inspired to help your teen with any weight issues they have. However, it is easier to prevent a teen from being overweight, than it is to treat it.
Where prevention is concerned, it focuses on educating the parents about providing their children with a good nutritional diet and plenty of physical activity. It's also important to help teens build their self esteem, and address any psychological issues that they have.
By :brown Michael
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