Teen Obesity

Obesity continued to increase dramatically during the late 1990s for Americans of all ages according to the data collected and analyzed by the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Over the last 30 years we have had a dramatic increase in the amount of overweight and obese teens.....


According to  the American Obesity Association approximately 30.4% of teens are overweight and 15.5% of teens are considered obese. This means that about half of all teens are at risk of developing health problems that are weight related. Teen body image can be greatly affected by obesity.

When people eat more calories than they burn off, their bodies store the extra calories as fat and this causes one to become overweight.

A couple of pounds of extra body fat are not a health risk for most people.  But when people keep up a pattern of eating more calories than they burn, more and more fat builds up in their bodies.

Eventually, the body gets to a point where the amount of body fat can have a negative effect on your health.  Doctors use the terms "overweight" or "obese" to describe when someone is at greatest risk of developing weight-related health problems.  More people are overweight today than ever before and the experts are calling this an "obesity epidemic".

What is the difference between obesity vs. overweight?  When talking about overweight teens the terms "overweight" and "obese" are used interchangeably but both are different.  The difference is measured as BMI (body mass index). This is a way to get the ratio of how much fat you are likely to have for your weight.

BMI is figured by taking your weight and then dividing it by your height in inches squared.  Then you multiply this number by 705.  This means if you are 5 feet, 6 inches tall, you would square the inches (66) for 4,356 then 130 divided by 4,356 is 0.0298.  That is multiplied by 705 for a BMI of 21.03. To calculate your BMI, ask your physician or log on to www.cdc.gov and type “BMI” in the search engine.

Overweight refers to a teenager that has a BMI that is between the 85th and 95th percentile of teenagers of the same gender and height.

Obese is when a teenager has a BMI that exceeds 95 percent of his or her peers, in terms of gender and weight.

    Underweight     BMI for age < 5th percentile
    Normal        BMI for age 5th percentile to < 85th percentile
    At risk of overweight    BMI for age 85th percentile to <95th percentile
    Overweight        BMI for age > 95th percentile

According to Former President, Bill Clinton "obesity is the single greatest tragedy facing our society today". An epidemic of mass proportions has gripped our world.

The world is plagued with a massive obesity problem and this health issue has now trickled down into the child population, increasing the physical and emotional illness risks among children.

Remember the way heavier children were treated at school when you were young? It is much worse now - but on a physical level, obesity increases your child's risk for a number of serious health problems.

If your teenager is obese, then he or she already feels a great deal of negativity in his or her life.  There are challenges that aren't faced by teens with a healthy body weight.

Inactivity and diet are the main problems of obesity in teenagers today.  Remember your children watch what you do, they eat what you eat and do what you do, and so if you are sitting in the house all day eating all the wrong foods and gaining weight what is the kid most likely to do? Exactly the same!

This is an extremely unhealthy lifestyle for individuals of any age, but when it becomes a way of life for children, obesity is the result.

Teen obesity has grown to epidemic proportions.  According to a report from the "US Department of Health and Human Services" 14% of adolescents in the United States are overweight.  This figure has nearly tripled in the last 20 years.

This means 14% of our teens are at risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes, arthritis, Blount's disease, breathing problems and many more.  Teens dealing with obesity have a very high probability of being obese as adults further increasing their risk of other serious health problems.

It's time to take charge and eliminate obesity from your family's life and this will require some lifestyle changes.