When children reach that awkward stage called puberty, they often make some major lifestyle changes. Swap the soccer ball for a TV remote, the bicycle for a game controller and the granola bar for a bag of chips, and you have the new agenda of young people. Unfortunately, this new agenda does not always include regular physical activity, which plays a huge role in keeping us healthy. At school, only one gym credit is required, and after that, many teens do not participate in any activities to keep them fit. Also to blame is the influence of the forever-present and always dependable technology, now a staple element in most homes. The television, the computer and video games all play a key part in keeping teens indoors and inactive. But today’s teens are clever; they’re multi-taskers. What else are they doing while they’re watching TV or playing on the computer? They’re eating. Poor eating habits, including the type of food and time at which it is consumed, can contribute to the amount of excess weight on the body. Because these things can be controlled, eating habits, influence of media and television and physical inactivity can be called modifiable factors in the commonness of obesity. The disregard of these factors causes about three quarters of the obesity cases in adolescents in Canada.
There are things that contribute to obesity in adolescents that we have no control over. These factors cause the other one-quarter of obesity cases in adolescents. Included in this category of unalterable factors are genetic and hereditary problems and family lifestyle. Hereditary problems may be passed on from one family member to another. Children with obese parents are genetically more likely to become obese themselves. Family lifestyle is another unalterable factor. Family income and the difference between one or two working parents makes a contribution to the prevalence of obesity in adolescents. When a house is home to two working parents, proper food consumption is generally not a significant issue, and nutritious food is often traded for fast foods, which are high in fat and low in nutritional value. While an inactive lifestyle is bad for your health, being too busy to prepare and eat a nutritious meal at regular times is a destructive pattern, which can add extra pounds on unsuspecting individuals.
The dangers of obesity are numerous, and the penalties can last a lifetime. Pancreatitis, Type II Diabetes, and Hypertension are part of a long list of severe health conditions now being seen in adolescents, which have previously been diagnosed only in adults. As well as causing problems in the teen years, when the obesity is developing, it increases the risk for serious health issues in adulthood. Many life-threatening illnesses, thought to be caused by obesity, are on the rise, including heart disease, cancer and stroke.
Not only does obesity put extra burden on every major organ, making it a physical havoc to the human body, it can also be especially destructive to teenagers’ self esteem and self-image. Adolescence is perhaps the most crucial period in a person’s life. It is a time when teens intuitively examine their individual identity, their relationships with others, and the factors that influence their actions and feelings. It is also a time when stereotypes, discrimination, and double standards are generated and enforced on both an individual and societal level. At this age level, in our society, body weight is commonly used to establish social status and acceptance. Obese teenagers often experience humiliation amongst their peers, being taunted, rejected or ending up as the punch line in jokes. These episodes are no doubt damaging to self-esteem, and can further reduce the teen’s self image. This can lead to feelings of worthlessness and depression, a dangerous combination in the especially turbulent teenage years.
Because they are only teenagers, and not yet set in their lifestyles and patterns of living, obesity in adolescents is a preventable and treatable condition. The first step is knowledge. It is imperative that teens know the dangers and causes of obesity, and learn the preventative measures before bad habits are established. The importance of a healthy diet, including the proper serving amounts of each of the four food groups according to Canada’s Food Guide should be introduced early and stressed regularly in families. In addition, regular physical activity is essential to sustaining a healthy weight. The benefits of vigorous activity have been proven in numerous studies. It is said to improve metabolism, cardiac health, emotional health, and self esteem. The combination of these two lifestyle options is desirable for a healthy teenager.
Obesity is a growing issue in North America, and the seriousness of the problem needs to be understood by everyone in order for it to be stopped. If the rate at which obesity is affecting adolescents now is in any way indicative of our future, society will eventually have to deal with obesity in epidemic proportions. How sad is the world when young, healthy children grow to become lazy, gluttonous teenagers? It is the world in which we live, and it is in need of change. It is up to everyone to learn about the issue, and to take preventative actions to ensure that they do not turn into a statistic of this latest health scourge.
