The Involvement Of Schools In Teen Weight Loss
If you want to help your children lose weight, some changes have to be made. It is becoming
more often that we read and hear a lot about the need to lose weight on a daily basis. Now that
obesity is being recognized as an increasing problem, losing weight, especially in teens has
gained a lot more significance.
Overweight kids have been the product of a "fast food" lifestyle that most families has grown
accustomed with. Daily consumption of hamburgers and fries along with other add-on have
made it easier for teens to gain more weight and at the same time get less of the essential
nutrients that their growing body needs. It is becoming an unhealthy trend that needs to be
addressed. It is usually up to the parents to take action.
So what is usually the quick and easy answer to help teenagers as well as adults lose weight?
The simple combination of diet and exercise of course. Almost everyone is aware that following
a healthy diet and regular exercise are keys to losing and maintaining a healthy weight. No new
research is required before you can look into the causes of obesity in teenagers. More than just
the fast food, it is also the larger portion sizes, or increasing inactivity that are causing more
teens to become overweight.
There is not one single thing that they can easily change and make fewer people overweight. It
is usually a combination of diet, exercise and other things that is the successful answer to any
weight issues. The big concern is more on how to find the motivation to eat healthier and
exercise regularly. This is probably the most difficult part of trying to lose weight. But even if one
has the proper motivation to start eating healthier and exercising more often, trying to keep it up
becomes an even harder task.
In the case of teenage kids, proper motivation may come from going to school each day. An
educational institution that practices and preaches a healthy lifestyle would be more than helpful
in keeping the weight of teenage and even younger kids in check. Schools can institute major
changes in order to provide kids with healthy meals and regular exercise. Small steps such as
banning soda and fruit drinks can help a lot.
providing real daily physical education requirements that can help make kids more active
physically, a break from a sedentary lifestyle that they may be accustomed with at home. A
school can also help in an effective weight loss program for kids by offering only healthy foods
at school meals. Unhealthy foods or snacks should not be offered as an option for kids who
don't want to eat healthy.
Having adequate fitness equipment available to all students can greatly help in motivating kids
to become more active. Such equipment should be made available for everyone and not just for
those students who are participating in formal sports. Schools can also increase the number of
informal sports that kids can play.
This way, kids do not have to be a member of the varsity basketball team in order to enjoy
playing basketball at school. Of all of these changes, the program to increase physical
education requirements will likely be the most useful in helping kids reach a healthy weight.
Such programs can also help them avoid becoming overweight and further help kids build good
habits that might stay with them into adulthood.
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