We're Talking Teen Health

We're Talking Teen Health
By: Dhainee Pfaffin

According to www.nlm.nih.gov "Obesity means having too much body fat. It is differrnt from being overweight, which means weight too much. The weight may come from musde, bone, fat and / or body water. Both terms mean that a person's weight is greater than what's considered healthy for his or her height."

Obesity scales are increasing each passing year without any signs of depression. Statistics say that obesity tripled in the last 30 years to nearly 15% of everyone from age 6 to 19. The media has constanly epitomized obesity or being overweight as an imminent peril that should be extinguished, or else. Like in television shows or in movies, the skinny characters are always the successful ones, the popular ones, the center of attention, and the belle of the ball. The pop culture has taught us that being skinny is good and being fat is not. Students also discern that being overweight maybe a serious jeopardy in their social status. After watching the whole media lambaste obesity, teens might find not eating anything at all as charismatic and eating healthy as horrid.

So then here comes the resolution most teens turn to, dieting. One of the most widespread fad diets these days is the 'Starvation Diet'. From the term itself, it certainly doesn't sound anywhere near healthy. With the pressure coming from the media, and the never ending teenage anxiety, most of the teens resolve to diet to attain the 'perfect' body figure. Most of the teens evaluate their bodies against models and Hollywood stars and they concentrate on the parts of their anatomy that they dislike. The reality is that models and hollywood stars are 15-23 percent lower in weight and 5-6 inches taller in height than the 'average' American. No wonder roughly 95 percent of females whine about their body figures.

As teens starve them-selves with intense desires to lose weight and look perfect, more weight epidemics come to life. They prefer the so-called 'Fast weight- loss diets' than the healthy way of losing weight like exercising and eating healthy foods.

Anorexia and bulimia are grim, life-threatening maladies. In the reported cases in the U.S. nearly 10 million women and 1 million men, mostly teenagers, are affected by these disorders. It is also estimated that another 25 million people suffer from Binge Eating Disorder, also known as Compulsive Overeating. These eating disorders are liable for over 300,000 deaths every year. One in every ten cases of anorexia leads to death from starvation, cardiac arrest, and suicide or other medical complications. Eating disorers are serious mental health issues. Without help, about 20% of people with eating disorders die.

These disorders usually co-occur with depression, subtance abuse and anxiety disorders. Treatment for eating disorders usually entail team approach; including individual therapy, family support, and friends' encouragement. Prevention is always better than treatment. Love, security, attention, and supportive and healthy environment are good foundations for a healthy living.

Posted by: Ye Seul Kim