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Weight Management
last modified
2008-06-17
- Obesity levels among children and adolescents increased by 10 percent between 1980 and 2000. Overweight and obesity increase ones risk of developing chronic conditions including Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, and some forms of cancer.
- Most adolescents consume diets that are higher in fat and lower in fruit and vegetables. Poor dietary patterns developed in childhood and adolescent years are contributing factors to becoming obese and suffering from obesity-related conditions later in life.
- Adolescents of a lower socioeconomic status and those that do not eat at home with a family are more likely to be overweight. There are large differences in overweight prevalence among adolescents of different racial/ethnic backgrounds. African American adolescents have the highest prevalence of overweight and Asian Americans have the lowest. In addition, sex differences in overweight prevalence are significant with more adolescent boys than girls being overweight.
- Low levels of physical activity are the major reason for the increase in overweight and obesity in adolescents. More than one-third of high school students/adolescents do not engage in vigorous physical activity and only 32 percent of high school students attend physical education class daily. Participation in physical activity declines as children age.
- Studies show that many adolescent girls adopt healthy weight loss tactics, including reduced caloric intake and increased amounts of exercise, when attempting weight loss. Few adolescent girls employ unhealthy weight loss tactics such as diet pills, fasting, and vomiting, when attempting to lose weight.