Overweight Teens

The United States has more than its share of overweight teens. Teenage obesity in the United States is at an all time high. There are many reasons why there are so many overweight teens. Some of them include:

Lack of meal structure

Most of us are so busy trying to get to work, deal with home issues and then get kids shuttled to games to give a thought about the three main meals of the day - breakfast, lunch and dinner. Want to know why there are so many overweight teens? No one cooks. A commercial a few years back actually mocked a woman who made muffins for her family and promoted frozen, preserved and sodium loaded instant muffins. The idea of someone actually making breakfast, which is the way to get your metabolism started, or even dinner, seems foreign to many families. These have become things to "get through." Breakfast is nothing but a pastry or roll as the teen goes out the door, if that. Dinner is often purchased from the local fast food joint. There is often no structure and people eat all the time, including close to bed time. The lack of meal structure as well as the care put into meals is contributory to overweight teens.

Lack of exercise

Schools today are only interested in winning a sport competition. So much to the fact that kids who are not good in competitive sports are often ignored in gym class. This is to the point where a teacher will tell kids to do what they want during gym while he or she concentrates on coaching the basketball, tennis, baseball or some other team. Coaches of high school teams are actually put under pressure to win games to the point where their job is on the line. No wonder they tend to worry about their games and job than overweight teens who are not good in sports but need the exercise the most.

Kids today do not go out and play like kids did years ago. Parents often feel pressure to make sure that their kids join every organized sport there is and many live vicariously through their kids. As a result, kids feel stress and often indulge in stress eating in addition to the lack of exercise.

Many kids come home to an empty house and have to stay inside until their parent or parents get home. Years ago, kids came home from school and were often shooed out to play. The concept of kids just playing outdoors is almost alien to some parents who worry that their kids will get hurt.

Overweight teens often turn into overweight adults. Overweight teens are therefore on the track of coming down with diabetes, heart disease and even some cancers, all of which are linked to obesity. The reason for overweight teens is a poor and rushed diet consumed by many Americans and total lack of exercise as the need for winning games overshadows physical fitness.

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