teenage weight control

A study from the University of Minnesota has shown that the common parental approach to addressing teen's weight leaves much to be desired - and that's IF they are even aware there is a problem in the first place!

An all-too-common approach parent's use for their overweight teens is to suggest they diet. But 5 years later, those kids were far more likely to still be too heavy than were overweight kids whose parents had no idea they were fat and did nothing.

Here are some other insights into the study and some more productive ways to help overweight teens. Read the story here

Teenage weight management is a difficult area. There is considerable evidence showing that many teenagers choose dangerous behaviors or embark on restrictive diet regimes.

Many of these methods backfire - sometimes resulting in weight gain - or even lead the young person into the realm of an eating disorder.

There are, however, some positive stories of teens who have managed their weight and grown their self-esteem in the process.

Weight Loss Confidential by Anne Fletcher is a book that gathers together these stories.

UPDATE: Thanks everyone. Congrats to Grace and Bunny. Comments now closed.

Eating a good breakfast is one of those generation-tested mantras that have become lost on many these days. Teens are of particular concern as more of them seem to opt for an extra 20 minutes of sleep, a shower or some Facebook time instead of a good breakfast.

Take that iPod out of your ears and listen up kids: According to a recent study of 2000 teens, those who skipped breakfast weighed an average of 5 lbs more than those who ate breakfast.

Here are some other findings from the study;

New research of over 4400 adolescent girls shows a powerful correlation between social standing and weight gain.

A recent study of body dissatisfaction among college students yielded some surprising contrasts: half of the underweight women thought they were fine the way they were, or wanted to lose even more weight. Yet most of the overweight students were shooting for weights that were still too high to be considered healthy.

And what about normal weight women? Care to guess what percentage of them were unhappy with their current weight?

Research into the dieting habits of adolescents revealed that "dieting was a significant predictor of initiation of regular smoking among females."

The same effect was not found in males.

A recent study of 800 college students shows that going to college may be related to weight gain.

Researcher, Ingrid Logren collected health data from 800 of her students enrolled in a nutrition course at the University of New Hampshire. The results of the research were startling.

A study of over 2,500 teenagers has shown that those who go on diets end up putting on more weight over time than their peers.

The "Freshman 15" is no joke - although should really be called the freshman 8.

More studies confirm that weight gain during college years is significant - particularly among males. [...] students gained an average of 7.8 pounds during the freshman year. More than one-third gained 10 pounds or more, and one-fifth piled on 15 or more. (src)

I always thought it was an urban legend just waiting to be debunked by Snopes, but the "Freshman 15" is a real problem.

His research, presented in July at the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior meeting in the Netherlands, is the latest in an ongoing debate about whether the so-called "freshman 15" -- in which entering college students pack on 15 pounds during their first year -- is myth or reality.