Why Is Teen Obesity Becoming a Huge Problem?

The rate of teenage obesity has increased from 5 percent in 1980 to 18 percent in 2010. Nearly one-third of teens are now either overweight or obese. Obese teens are more likely to have one or more risk factors for cardiovascular disease, are more likely to be obese as adults and are more likely to bully or be bullied by others.

  1. Available Food Options

    • Food high in fat and calories, but low in nutrition, is inexpensive and readily available. In some communities it can be difficult for a family to make regular trips to a grocery store. When most meals come from convenience stores or fast-food restaurants, it can be hard to maintain a healthy weight. Even families that eat dinner at home most evenings may find they rely on convenience foods, which are often high in calories, sodium and fat, more than past generations.

    Lack of Activity

    • Adults aren't the only ones who suffer from a sedentary lifestyle. Between time when teens are attending school and time spent in front of various electronic devices, many teens have a very sedentary lifestyle. The average teen spends three hours watching television or sitting at the computer each day. This doesn't leave much time for an active lifestyle. To make matters worse, schools have systematically cut their physical education programs over the past decades. As of 2007, only 25 percent of students in high school were taking daily physical education classes.

      The US Department of Health and Human Resources recommends that teens get at least 60 minutes of activity every day, and participate in vigorous aerobic activity at least three times a week. Meeting this goal would go a long way toward reaching and maintaining a healthy weight for most teens.

    Increase in Portion Sizes

    • Portion sizes today are much larger than in the past, and provide more calories than teens, and adults, need. Many deluxe-style burgers at fast-food restaurants provide nearly the entire day's worth of calories, and that is before you add the soft drink that can be the size of four actual servings of soda. Candy bars and chips packaged in what are purported to be single serving portions often comprise two or more servings.

    Poor Eating Habits

    • Without knowing what to eat, or how much, it is hard to maintain a healthy weight. Often, inexpensive and high-calorie meals are not very satisfying, so the teen wants something else relatively soon. Combined with the onslaught of commercials for everything from fast food to high-sugar cereals to snacks, it is easy to see why teens have trouble developing good eating habits. Divorce, job loss and other family stressors can also lead to teens overeating.

    2. Previous:

    Next: