By Liz Ernst
E-zine article
All rights reserved
Teen Obesity: A Generation of Youths Set up for a Lifetime of Weight-related Health Problems
Today’s teens and young adults have a relationship with food unlike that of any previous generation, and many are questioning the modern food industry and its role in rising obesity rates among American’s young people.
In fact, The Journal of the American Medical Association states that more than 30-percent of children in the U.S. are overweight, and today’s teens and young adults comprise the first generation of American children who will spend their lifetime battling weight, dealing with weight-related illness and facing a shorter lifespan than their parents.
It may come as no surprise that teenagers raised in lower socioeconomic groups have a higher risk of suffering from obesity and obesity-related illnesses including diabetes and hypertension. Despite a country rich in resources and a growing trend in grocery chains committed to organic food offerings, the poor continue to eat inexpensive fast food and purchase high carb processed foods from the supermarket.
Children raised in middle and upper middle class households tend to fare better statistically in avoiding obesity, but they are by no means immune. A rise in single parent households has left many young people largely to their own devices. When adolescents and teens are choosing their own meals, they often pick less-than-healthy options.
Compound poor eating habits with lack of daily physical exercise and you have a recipe for obesity that often goes unaddressed until social and health problems arise. Too much leisure time spent in front of a computer is becoming the norm for many young people. Despite popular television programs such as “The Biggest Loser” and the recently launched “Huge,” researchers and medical professionals claim that America’s youth has yet to scratch the surface when it comes to addressing their own obligation to eating well and committing to a physical fitness regimen.
Is it a lack of education that feeds unhealthy lifestyles? Or are parents simply too busy to prioritize healthy diet and activity when they’re juggling so many other responsibilities? What role (if any) should the 21st-century food industry be expected to play in educating consumers about healthy eating?
Some experts place responsibility squarely in the hands of teens and young adults to take on the responsibility of educating themselves if they’re going to live long, healthy lives.
###
← Back to portfolio