Childhood Obesity

The term childhood obesity includes children and teens aged 6 to 19 years old. The Institute of Medicine currently reported there are approximately nine million children over 6 years of age who are considered to be obese.

According to the report, 14% of adolescents in the United States are overweight. This figure has nearly tripled in the last 20 years.

This means that 14% of our teens are at risk for heart disease, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. Type 2 Diabetes has also increased dramatically in teens as a direct result of teen obesity. Additionally, teens who are dealing with teen obesity have a very high probability of being obese as adults further increasing their risk of other serious health problems.

Reading these teen obesity statistics may be a little frightening but may also be viewed as "something to worry about tomorrow" because teen obesity statistics are dwarfed by other problems teens face today. Teens dealing with teen obesity also deal with social discrimination which can be devastating. Overweight or obese teens often have low self esteem which keeps them from joining in many activities with other teens. Obese teens may also suffer from depression which can lead to a viscous circle of staying at home watching TV and snacking, gaining more weight, feeling worse about themselves, and spending more time in front of the TV. -TroubledTeen101.com