Diet For Teenagers - The Real Issues You Should Worry About

It's Not Just About Food

When considering how to help your teen lose weight it's important to think of more than just the foods they're eating. That being said, it's just as important to ensure they're eating healthy foods while they're trying to lose weight.

Emotional and psychological factors should also be considered when you go about creating a healthy diet for teenagers. We'll address a few key points about food and the less obvious aspects of a healthy diet for teenagers in this brief article.

Food First

The first order of business is to find out which foods your teen is eating that are attributing to weight gain. One of the more difficult tasks of helping your teen lose weight is throwing away the junk food and substituting it with healthy options.

Go through your pantry and read the labels. Anything with high fructose corn syrup or enriched bleached flour should be thrown away, because they are known to be fattening and all-around unhealthy. Foods high in sugar, sodium, and with more than a few ingredients are best left in the trash can.

While you're throwing foods away, consider alternatives that can take the place of these foods. Obvious choices are more fruits and vegetables, you can hardly go wrong with them in their natural state. Avoid purchasing canned fruits and vegetables because of their extra sodium and sugar content, however.

Suggesting that your teen eats breakfast will also help them stave off hunger throughout the day and prevent them from reaching for convenience foods that are often high in calories, fat, sodium, sugar, and other harmful ingredients.

Body Image and Teen Psychology

Teenagers tend to be overly critical of themselves regarding their body image. They're constantly being exposed to media that paint an unrealistic image of what a person should be. Personal appearance is the single most important thing to most teenagers, and if your teen is overweight already they may feel they're constantly at odds with their peers.

Love, acceptance, and feeling uniquely important are needs every teen has. If your teen is overweight they may feel like outcasts at school, and find it difficult to relate to others and have friends. This can further complicate weight issues because food can be used as an emotional medicine to escape the pain.

Without being too invasive you can let your teen know you're there to support them in their goal of losing weight. As a parent you're responsible for providing them a healthy home environment to thrive, but ultimately they must want to change their habits and adopt a healthy lifestyle to lose weight.

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