Have you ever found yourself scrambling through the kitchen several times with the same hour in search of something snacky? Don’t worry. You are not the only one. Sometimes we eat more than we are supposed to and keep eating even though we are not hungry.
Overeating accumulates unnecessary fat. this leads to obesity increased list of health-related problems. Research shows that the number of teenagers had a significant rise in the past few years.
What is obesity?
Obesity is a medical condition that occurs when one’s body has excessive body fat. It increases the risk of health diseases therefore a condition that should not be ignored. Obesity is often the outcome of overeating or metabolic fluctuations but it is a medical condition that can be prevented.
Adolescent obesity in India
India is constantly facing the dangers of the increasing rate of obesity in teenagers and among children. Though the rate of obesity is stagnant since the past few years, the rate of overweight with obesity is constantly increasing.
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Preventing obesity in teenagers
Obesity is a condition that is preventable but one requires support from other people like your family and friends to lose weight. Various measures can be adopted to fight teenage obesity.
Some of the measures are mentioned below :
1)Changing family eating habits. This motivates teens to eat healthy along with their family. Plan out balanced meals for each day of the week and follow them.
2)Encourage physical activities: Persuade your child to get involved in physical activities like outdoor games if this becomes a regular practice he or she will slowly lose weight. Sweating out is important as it burns calories and removes toxins from the body .engaging more in running and playing outdoor games is good for the metabolism of the child.
3)Inculcate good habits: Teach kids good eating habits from the beginning and teach them to eat slowly and only when hungry
Stock the kitchen with fresh fruits and vegetables . and foods with low fat and sugar. Having a balanced and healthy diet is considered as a good practice. Try to keep away from junk food at home. keeping fresh fruits and vegetables is ideal as the child when hungry have access only to healthy food Insist on eating fruits daily. When the child is hungry give him fruit salad which is healthy and juicy and full of vitamins and minerals which will be keeping him or her full for a long time instead of eating junk food. Eating fruits is good for the tummy and also in a way a healthy and balanced. Tell your child and present him or her with fruit salad which is nutritious and healthy. avoiding any other food of sugar and trans fat will help.
4)Reduce time in front of the screen to less than 2 hours a day so that adolescents can participate in more productive habits like a new hobby or game. Keeping yourself occupied also lets you forget hungry. Sitting idle and bored makes you think of food and snacks. Healthy snacks in form of fruits are the need of the hour.
5)Don’t use food as a reward or punishment. This causes the teen to engage in more food and leads to an eating disorder and causes more problems. Treat it like an everyday ritual that healthy food is necessary for the body and vitamins and minerals are essential and it is important to inculcate in daily diet.
6)Encourage your children to stay hydrated and encourage them to drink water instead of aerated drink and sports drink which are loaded with sugar and glucose
As a teenager, I know maintaining good health may be a difficult task with the numerous happenings in and around. Here is what you should do.
For a healthy meal, you should sit down with your parents and plan out a curate meal plan for the week. You should pitch in food ideas to the parents and tell them to get the same from the grocery. We come to the mutual agreement of fruits and vegetables in every meal except one day a cheat meal. Then follow the meal plan and get the nutrients your body requires while enjoying the freedom of foods that you like to enjoy and that you eat once in a while.
You should explore games and enjoy playing hence spend time learning new things. Teenagers should find new activities that they like if they haven’t already and participate in it regularly.
A good TVshow is hard to put a limit on. We just keep watching till we are satisfied or realize its too late. However, we don’t realize that it eats up a lot of time to do useful things.
