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Talking To Your Teen About Weight Loss

The hordes of teenagers becoming obese are a real and growing problem. Much like adults, teens lose the weight the same way – by using more calories a day than they intake. However, with teens there are two major differences.

For starters, teenagers have what most would call an addiction to technology. And, by nature, technology makes your life easier – which doesn’t bode well for getting up off the couch, getting outside, and doing something physical. So, when you approach your teenager with the idea of exercise, you must combat their “addiction” with technology.

However, the second major difference in teens losing weight is this – their bodies are more susceptible to change. It is much easier for a 15 year old girl to lose weight than a 45 year old. This is due to the simple fact that our bodies resist which is different, and if a 45 year old has a long pattern of lack of exercise and healthy food, the body will fight this. With a 15 year old though, this resistance is much less.

Here are some ways to help your teen lose weight:

Have a heart to heart. Be sensitive, but you also need to be very clear. You don’t want to have to bury your child, and depending on the severity of the excess weight – lifelong risks of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart problems, etc will certainly put a long and healthy life in risk.

Dispute the “ideal” image. Your little girl doesn’t need to be 110 pounds when she’s in high school. It’s about being healthy, not being a skeleton. Let them know it’s okay not to have a 6-pack of abs, they simply need to watch what they eat and exercise more.

Avoid the fads. The worst thing you can do is go to the store and let them start buying a bunch of weight loss pills that won’t do anything to help them. You both should know that weight loss is a lifetime commitment, not buying some marketing agency’s lies.

Get physical. Make it a family event. Go walking after dinner, get your child involved at the local YMCA. Join a local kickball league. Do anything to get them off the computer, television, video game system, cell phone, etc.

Overall, be positive. You don’t want the encounter to be negative for them – they should know and feel when the conversation is over that you love them how they are, but you just want to start trying some new things. They should know that they can easily lose their weight if they just make a few, simple lifestyle changes – and you’ll be there to help along the way.

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