Five Tips For Teen Weight Loss

By Dr. Edward F. Group III, DC, ND, DACBN
updated on 02/19/2008 at 10:41AM

Teen weight loss is an increasingly important issue, as more and more teens are battling with weight problems. As a parent, it’s important to start the ball rolling with your teen’s weight loss. Though it can be a difficult subject to breach with a teenager, it’s an important one. Here are a few tips to help get you started.

Weight-Loss Tip #1: Sit Down and Talk About the Problem

The first step toward achieving teen weight loss is to sit down and talk with your teenager about his or her problem. More than likely, your teen already realizes that they are overweight but doesn’t know how to ask for help. So, it might be up to you to bring the subject up. This can be difficult to do without hurting your teen’s feelings, so make sure to be delicate about the subject.

If your teen is overweight, there are several health problems to be concerned about. Your teenager, however, probably isn’t thinking much about their health. Rather, they are probably most disturbed by social pressures and feelings of isolation. The emotional damage of being overweight can be devastating.

To bring up the subject with your teen, ask your teen how they feel about their current weight. This simple question is likely to open up the doors of communication. If not, you might need to push it a bit further and let your teen know that you’re concerned, but acknowledge that the power to lose weight is solely in the teen’s hands. At the same time, let your teen know you are there to help in any way possible.

Weight-Loss Tip #2: Be Realistic

It’s important to remain realistic with teen weight loss. Teenagers often set unrealistic expectations for themselves based on what they see on television. For this reason, it’s best to focus on achieving a healthy weight that is appropriate for your child’s height and body frame. Consult with your doctor to get a good idea of what your teen’s ideal body weight would be.

Weight-Loss Tip #3: Eat Healthy

One of the best ways to get healthy and stay healthy is to watch the foods you eat. Planning meals that are healthy and include plenty of fruits and vegetables will benefit the entire family. In addition, make sure your teenager eats breakfast every morning. Skipping meals isn’t a good way to lose weight. In fact, it’s better to eat several small meals throughout the day in order to keep metabolism levels constant.

You should never attempt to remove favorite foods completely from your teenager’s diet. Rather, encourage your teenager to eat smaller portions of his or her favorite snacks. In addition, work a designated snack time into your teenager’s day, but make sure the available snacks are healthy. Good snacks to keep on hand include:

Cherry tomatoes
Sliced peppers (yellow, orange, or red)
Baby carrots
Grapes
Strawberries
Oranges
Apples
Pretzels
Graham crackers
String cheese
Low fat yogurt
Low fat pudding

You should also monitor the drinks you keep stocked in your home. It’s very easy to consume too many calories through drinks alone. Just one 12 ounce soda can have 150 calories. You might also be surprised to discover the number of calories in juices and other drinks. Encourage your teenager to drink water instead. For the best weight loss results they should drink at least eight 8 ounce glasses per day.

Weight-Loss Tip #4: Get Active

Physical activity is one of the best ways to promote teen weight loss. Make it a family affair. Play tennis, baseball, basketball or other sports with your teen. Or, plan a family walk time during which the entire family goes outside for a stroll. Not only will this increase the physical health of the entire family, but you will likely find it to be a great bonding experience. Ideally, your teen should get 60 minutes of physical activity each day, though this time can be broken into two or three shorter sessions. You can also encourage your teen to join a sports team, either in your community or through their school.

Weight-Loss Tip #5: Lose the Weight Naturally

In order to help your teen lose weight and keep the weight off in adulthood, you need to help them develop healthy eating habits. For this reason, you need to resist the temptation to find quick fixes for weight loss. Losing weight too quickly is dangerous for adults, but it’s particularly unhealthy for teens because their bodies are still growing and changing. A severe diet or a quick weight loss plan can cause long term damage to your teenager’s body. In addition, they will most likely regain the weight if healthy eating habits and choices are not internalized.