Healthy Ways for Teens to Lose Weight

A leading cause of teen obesity stems from habits learned from observing an overweight parent. Teenagers are largely influenced by the habits of their parents. When exposed to poor eating habits for an extended period of time, a teen can find it difficult to avoid picking them up. If a teen feels uncomfortable with his or her own appearance, it can be a good time to adopt better eating habits. With better eating habits and the right motivation, teens can effectively lose weight.

Guidance

• If you have a teen that is overweight, most likely they are also concerned about their weight as well. As a parent, you should provide them with guidance and understanding. Be willing to assist your child to curb the behaviors that have led to him or her being overweight. For teenagers, weight and self-image can be very tricky issues to deal with. Reinforce them with the notion that there is no perfect body. A healthy weight for one person may not be the right weight for someone else.

Portion Control

• A healthy weight loss program for teens is different from those many adults engage in. Teenagers are still developing, so it is unhealthy to adopt a fad diet that restricts a variety of foods. Teens are also not typically the food purchasers and decision makers in their household. This means they do not often go the grocery store and purchase food or prepare their daily meals. The best way for a teen to lose weight is not in avoiding certain foods, but rather to eat the proper portions per meal. The goal when eating is to provide the body with fuel to function properly. You should eat enough to no longer feel hungry, but not enough to feel extremely full. The full feeling is derived from signals sent from the stomach when it begins to expand. This is unhealthy.

  Teens need to learn the basics of reading a nutrition label. By understanding how much food to eat for one serving size and how many calories are involved in various foods, unnecessary calorie consumption can be avoided. Weight loss only occurs when the body burns approximately 3500 more calories in a given time period then are consumed. 3500 calories is equal to 1 pound lost or gained. Using portion control will allow you to still eat the foods you enjoy, but limit the amount of calories you take in.

Resist Quick Fix Diets

• It is crucial to help your teenager understand that weight control is a long-term commitment. Let them know that fad diets that try to provide a quick solution for weight loss are unhealthy. These diets can lead to your growing and still-developing teen not getting essential nutrients, iron or calcium that they need. Taking pills or other artificial weight loss supplements avoid addressing the real problem, which results in only short-term results. To lose weight and be able to maintain it, a permanent change in eating and exercise habits must be made.

Physical Activity

• Teens need approximately one hour of physical movement each day. This does not mean this activity must be continuous or of high intensity. Any physical activity works to help burn calories. Schools typically offer athletic programs that can beneficial for weight loss. However, if your child is not athletic or does not want to participate in sports, there is no reason to worry. Provide encouragement for your teen to start walking or biking. Simply walking around the block a couple times is helpful. Rather than coming home from school and watching television, suggest that he or she walk the dog, jump rope, or do something outdoors for a little while. Chores such as vacuuming, mowing the lawn and washing the car are good physical activities.