Since the late 1990’s, there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in Americans, regardless of age, according to information collected and analyzed by the National Center for Health Statistics.
Almost 9 million (15%) children between the ages of 6 and 19 are overweight, and this number is still growing according to information gathered between 1999 and 2000 (triple the number of 1980). The information has also shown that another 15% of children between the ages of 6 and 19 are at risk of becoming overweight also.
Obesity is defined as having an excessive accumulation of body fat which will result in the person’s body being about 20% heavier than their ideal body weight. So those people whose weight is above what is considered their ideal range, are defined as being overweight. Obesity is a common eating disorder that is associated with teens.
Although teens may have fewer weight related health issues than adults, those teens that are overweight now are much more likely to be come overweight as an adult. Teens who are overweight (in fact people of all ages that are overweight) are at risk from a number of different health issues, and these include:
1.Heart Disease
2.Diabetes
3.High Blood Pressure
4.Strokes
5.Some forms of Cancer
Those teens who are obese may find that they are not only physically unfit, but their well being is usually very low as well. Many obese people will also tend to have a shorter life expectancy than those who are the right weight for their body size.
