Poor Eating Habits

      Our research has shown that the number one cause of teenage obesity is their poor eating habits. It's a fact - most Americans have some sort of nutritional deficiency. It is hard to believe that in the land of plenty that we live in that people are just not receiving the nutrients they need. But, when we consider the fast paced, go-go-go- lifestyles that we live, the outcome is that eating healthy simply gets overlook while we are focusing on other priorities. In reality people are eating on the go, from vending machines, and are ordering a lot of take out - making it difficult to make the wisest choices when it comes to our eating habits. It is no surprise that the Dietary Guidelines for Americans reports that many people are consuming more calories than they require which do not contain the recommended amounts of nutrients - referred to as “empty calories.”

      On a daily basis it has been shown that a large percentage of the population are not even eating one fruit or vegetable. It is estimated that only one half of the calories consumed by the average person comes from wholesome, non-processed foods. People are eating mostly food products that contain white flour, sugar and fat and they are neglecting the nutrient rich whole grains, vegetables, fruits and dairy products that our bodies need to function efficiently. These statistics apply to teens and adults alike, after all where are our kids learning their eating habits?

      The fact is many families no longer sit down to dinner together and kids are grabbing something to eat from a box or a fast food restaurant and their diets consist of sugary and fatty foods that are low in fiber and nutritional value. Simply put the things that many are putting into their bodies on a daily basis are not healthy and are contributing to the growing population of overweight teens!

Overeating

      In our culture it can be quite a task not to consume more calories than we need to sustain ourselves. Experts attribute many different factors to the reasons why we over eat ranging from stress, emotional disorders, or not eating regular sensible meals throughout the day. Basically, it is easy to overeat with large servings at restaurants, food cravings, and misleading calorie listings on labels. One must really pay attention to avoid this pitfall. For example, if you look at the calories on a bag of chips you have to pay attention to what the serving size is, which may be only ten chips – it takes a lot of self control to only eat ten chips! Another kicker is soda, on a 16 oz bottle of soda they list the calories per serving which is not the whole bottle it is only 8 oz.

      Sometimes, we let ourselves get so hungry that we feel like we could eat a horse and consume much more than we need to sustain ourselves, leaving us feeling bloated and tired because of the extra stress we just put on our digestive system. Eating should be enjoyable and nutritional and it is very important to pay attention to what and how much food we are consuming.

      Each individual is different; therefore, we all have unique calorie intake needs based upon our age, activity levels, and health conditions. However, the average person should be consuming 2000 calories per day.

      
      I once consulted with a teenage female who was severely over weight and she was having all kinds of problems with her self-esteem, back pains, and breathing. When we did an initial evaluation of her diet we found that she was consuming 6 -9 bottles of soda per day – these beverages, which were offering her no nutritional value added between 1440 and 2160 calories! On top of that she was eating unhealthy fast foods and her body was severely undernourished. As you can imagine there were a lot of changes she needed to make!

      It is not just soda and unhealthy foods that we have to watch either. I was once working with a young lady who was so excited to tell me that she was drinking fruit juice all day, which is better than soda as it does have nutritional value, but each glass contains 140 calories, which amounted to about half of her daily recommended calorie intake. Paying attention to what and how much you are consuming is an important part of healthy weight management!

Neglecting to Drink Water

      Statistics show that seventy percent of people do not drink enough water; in fact there are many people out there that don’t even consume one glass of water during the day. Our bodies need water for various reasons and we should be drinking at least 8 glasses per day. Neglecting to do so can cause cravings and we may mistake this for being hungry. Drinking water helps to increase your metabolism; helps eliminate waste and toxins, while keeping your body functioning properly.

      A lot of people may feel that water is boring, but it is really refreshing and remember you body needs it – pure water with no added sugar or drink mixes. If you really have the need to spruce your water up a bit try squirting a little lemon juice in it, pure lemon juice – no sugar! If you are not drinking plenty of water give it a try and this alone will help you reduce your weight and feel healthier.

Lack of Exercise

      A study conducted by the San Diego School of Medicine indicated that lack of physical activity was among the most significant causes of obesity in teens. Advances in technology and the abundance of television programs has caused our teenagers to spend far more time engaging in sedentary activities as opposed to getting out there and being active. Also, our education system has seemed to deemphasize the importance of physical education. In many curriculums physical education is not even a requirement anymore. The simple fact is, if we are not exerting energy our bodies will store up unused resources as fat. Our bodies crave activity and exercise and it is recommended by experts that we engage in some sort of physical activity for at least 60 minutes per day. Physical activity helps to keep our bodies fit and feeling refreshed and healthy!

Sleep Deprivation

      This may be a surprising fact, but not getting the proper amount of rest can also contribute to an increase in body weight. Studies have proven that a one hour decrease in sleep is correlated to about a three pound increase in body mass. Sleep is a time that our body repairs itself and our digestive systems function more efficiently to eliminate waste. That is why most of us in the morning need to empty our bowls.

      Not getting the proper amount of rest has been linked to many health problems besides obesity like high blood pressure, depression, lack of concentration and stress levels. Sleep is important because this is the time that our bodies repair damaged cells and tissues, our memories are enhanced, and there are many other physiological benefits that we receive. I know that we all feel we need more hours in the day but neglecting sleep is not a wise way to create them when we are striving to keep our bodies in the best physical condition possible.

Other Contributing Factors

      To add to the list of underlying causes of obesity experts suggests that conditions such as depression, medical illnesses, medications, stressful life events, and other emotional problems may be contributing factors to the “overweight teen” trend. As I mentioned earlier dealing with emotional and self-esteem issues are important to your health. There is not one of you out there that does not have something of worth to offer to society, we all have a purpose. No matter what has happened to you or how you have been hurt – you are a beautiful person and deserve to live a healthy, productive, and happy life.

We encourage you to add comments, ask questions or use this forum to vent any concerns that you may have.