Teens are complex youngsters – they’re driven by motives that include peer pressure and the latest fads among the top five. So when you have an overweight teenager who’s extremely conscious of her weight or a normal one who still obsesses about her (weight issues concern the female of the species in these seven years, so I’m going to go with the feminine pronoun throughout this article) figure and shape, you know you’re in a dicey position. In the former situation, you must encourage and help your daughter in tackling her weight problem in a sensible way, and in the latter, you must make sure she doesn’t let the way she looks rule her life.

Both situations though, call for the same measures to be undertaken – making sure that the girls don’t do anything stupid or extreme like resorting to popping diet pills, skipping meals and starving themselves, or throwing up as soon as they’ve eaten. They must be made to understand that they’re still in their formative years, and that a lack of the right nutrients and vitamins could end up doing irreparable damage to their physiology and also have an adverse effect on their ability to become mothers themselves. Read on for a few pointers to get your teen on the sensible path to health and fitness:

Lead by example: Don’t obsess about your weight incessantly in front of your daughter; if you’re overweight or could lose a few pounds, do something positive about it like eating the right foods and exercising at least three times a week.

Cook healthy meals: Rather than giving your child lunch money to buy food from the school cafeteria, make her a healthy meal like a sandwich on whole wheat bread with fruit for dessert. Ensure that she eats all her meals. Make your daughter understand that eating right during her teen years is important for a healthy life in the future.

Keep healthy snack options at home: Rather than stock up on chips and cookies when you shop, buy wholesome and low-fat foods like fresh fruits and raw vegetables that your kids can snack on when they feel like nibbling something. Get them to drink water or fruit juice instead of guzzling down calorie-laden sodas. This doesn’t mean that they must completely forgo all their favorite foods, just that they must limit the portions and eat them once in a while to satisfy their cravings.

Encourage her to take up a sport: While it may not be the cool thing to play a sport in high school (if you’re a girl), being active helps promote a healthier and fitter body and mind.

Talk to your child: Understanding what your child is going through and empathizing with her will go a long way in helping her to help herself. Don’t belittle her feelings, no matter how trivial they seem. Make her see that fads are just passing fancies and that the bodies that models display are not healthy because of the starvation diets involved. Getting involved in the process will make your teen open up to you and listen to what you say.

Losing weight is not a fad to be followed for a while and then dropped like a hot potato – it’s a way of life for as long as you live, and the sooner your child understands this, the healthier she will be.

By-line:

This article is contributed by Sarah Scrafford, who regularly writes on the topic of x ray tech schools. She invites your questions, comments and freelancing job inquiries at her email address: sarah.scrafford25@gmail.com.

Check out the article here from MSN Health & Fitness.  

Here are some other wives’ tales:

I need to lose weight in order to be healthy.  

Half True

It is true that obesity does impose problems upon your body, but just because you drop some pounds to your “desired” weight doesn’t mean that your body is functioning properly.  Everything is dependent upon your body’s biochemistry, neurological function and structural integrity.  When those three factors are in balance, you can bet that you’ll be at a state of optimal health.  

If I don’t have any symptoms, I am healthy.  

90% true

Remember: health is dependent upon the balance of your biochemistry, neurological function and structural integrity.  

You can be symptom free, but have faulty sub-optimal biochemistry.  But on the flip side, you can actually be symptom free and be totally healthy.  And it takes effort to remain that way.  

If you read in the dark you’ll go blind.  

False

The main reason why people begin to lose visual acuity is that muscles within the eye decrease their ability to change the shape of the lens.  These muscles can weaken over time.  Your vision is dependent upon your ability to focus an image.  The intensity of the light coming off the image only affects the contrast.  It may be more difficult to see things in settings of decreased light, which may cause some eye strain.  Your pupillary muscles are working extra hard to widen your pupils to let in more light, which can attribute to your eye strain.  

Gargling with salt water will cure a sore throat.  

90% true

It all depends upon what’s causing the sore throat!  Nine times out of ten its due to some minor bacterial infection.  Most bacteria do not like a highly salty environment.  Sometimes you could have a severe “strep-throat” or a laceration.  This may not respond as favorably to the salt water concoction.

Post your thoughts and other old wives’ tales about health.  

• People still need to drive to work, but gas prices remain high (probably about 30-40% higher than “normal”). This dips into a person’s discretionary income.
• High gas prices increase the cost of almost all types of goods we purchase due to shipping. This increase dips into a person’s discretionary income.
• People spend most of their income on taxes, shelter, food and transportation.
• Most lenders are tightening up on loans, so the average person is finding it difficult to secure a mortgage for a home. Because there’s a high demand for rental properties, property owners hike up the prices for rent. This dips into a person’s discretionary income.
• People shy away from doing or buying “fun” things. Novelty shops and retail outlets are having to cut back on employees. Without a job, you hardly have any income.

So with my observations I have come to some conclusions and predictions:

• Because discretionary income is decreasing and jobs are thinning, people will begin to look to “save” money. How can I “cut” back on things. One of the first things people cut back on or not make a top priority is the foods that they eat. Often selling their health to the lowest bidder, most Americans will shop for what’s on sale, which is almost the most nutrient devoid “foods” on the planet.
• We won’t see the impact of this recession on our health until 15 – 20 years from now when a huge outbreak of diseases with “unknown” causes will erupt. I’m not talking about infectious diseases or a viral outbreak, but people who are just run down and unhealthy.
• This current generation’s lifespan will be shorter than their parents and grandparents. (Yes go back and read that again) And the economic burden it will place on our nation will be unfathomable because insurance companies will not cover medical costs. People will, in essence, choose to die rather than pay for their medical care.
• The average lifespan will decrease from mid-70’s to late 50’s.

My solution:

• Find a way to establish multiple streams of income rather than just relying on one source of income. The whole reason we as a society claim to be in a recession is that we think about scarcity rather than abundance. We’re lazy. We’re content with waking up every morning to the sound of an irritating alarm clock, sitting in traffic, eating a stale, nutrient devoid bagel and complaining about a job and a boss that we hate. No, seriously, we’re content. Because if we weren’t, we wouldn’t be in this so called mess. We’d figure out a way for change.
• Prioritize your finances and put your health at the top.  Without your health, you can’t do anything else.  Don’t sell your health to the lowest bidder.
• Don’t become a statistic. Do something different.

So the rise in gas prices will not only affect your bank account, but also your health.

Most employers will not give you an increase in pay to compensate for the rise in gas prices.  So your disposable income starts to decrease.  This creates stress in your life (one of the major stressors – finances).

This stress increases your cortisol levels, which cause you to:

• Gain belly fat
• Lower your immune system
• Decrease your cognitive abilities

Now instead of buying foods that are “healthy” for you, you decide to get what’s on sale, which is not usually the healthiest choice.  These foods are probably devoid of any nutrition, so you develop slight nutrient deficiencies.  Lack of nutrients impairs your thinking ability, along with the stress which was already decreasing your cognitive ability.  Compound this downward spiral over the course of a few years and you’ve got a full blown disease process.

So here are some solutions:

• Make sure your car is well maintained to maximize gas mileage (a great place to start).  Things like tire pressure and wheel alignment.
• Prioritize your spending habits.  Remember, without your health, you really can’t do anything else.  So all your choices have to be with your health in mind.  Don’t sell your health to the lowest bidder.
• Take some time to meditate each day to relieve those stressors like rising gas prices.  In all honesty, you can’t control gas prices, so you need to learn to deal with the added financial stress it places upon you.
• Figure out a way to make more money.  You have talents that you could actually get paid for, yet you don’t.  Start a home-based business.  Start an e-bay business.  Learn how to monetize your blog.  There are tons of options out there.

Remember, happiness is a choice.  No one makes you feel stressed.  Choose to be happy and stress-free and that’s what you’ll be.

Some statistics, implicating both the food industry and the government as co-creating factors in the obesity epidemic, include:

• In 2002, consumers spent $174 billion on processed foods.
• 90 percent of foods marketed each year are processed foods.
• Last year, 2,800 new candies, desserts, ice-cream, and snacks were introduced to the marketplace, compared to 230 new fruits or vegetable products.
• The food industry spends $34 billion per year marketing their products.
• $12 billion is spent marketing to children.

The food industry is quick to point out that the choice is always yours — they’re not making you buy something you don’t want. They also want to blame the obesity problem on people’s unwillingness to exercise.

We’d save billions of dollars in gas. Airlines would double their profits. A dearth of diabetes and other diseases would save billions of dollars more — and put thousands of doctors on the street. McDonald’s would sell not Big Macs but little steamed chicken snacks — or watch its profits melt away. Productivity would rise, potentially creating tens of thousands more jobs or higher wages all around.

She states that about 2/3rds of the US population are overweight and that leads to increased spending whether on healthcare or food.  Being overweight is not just a health concern, but a financial concern as well.  There’s a vicious cycle that happens here.  People try to save money by purchasing food items that are “on sale” and are not healthy by any means.  It’s been stated that the average American only spends about 10% of their income on food where as Europeans spend roughly 20%.  Consuming these non-nutritious foods leaves our bodies devoid of the vital nutrients needed to function properly, but then we’re laden with a high caloric and sugar concentrated diet.  This then leads to an increase in body fat composition and other diseases associated with being overweight.

What can we do about this?

• Re-organize our financial priorities.  Make your health your #1 priority.  Forget the latte’s and the Nintendo Wii (oh wait, Mario Kart just came out).  Spend your money wisely by purchasing quality food.
• If you don’t have enough money to buy quality food figure out a way to be frugal.  Trust me, if you really analyzed your budget, you can find the money.  Look at it this way, you either pay now or you pay later.
• Invest in an exercise routine (this can be either monetarily or your time or both).  You need a good and consistent workout schedule.

Doing these things on a consistent basis will actually save you money in the long run.  What do you guys think about this?

But let’s look at it on a cellular level. If you’re sleep deprived, then your cells do not get the chance to regenerate. Let this cycle go on for years and you essentially lose thousands of cells because they’re not getting a chance to regenerate. So what does this mean to you? Well, you begin to lose your edge where your brain processes tend to slow down slightly (we’re talking milliseconds). A few milliseconds is a long time for brain processes.

I always advise my patients to get at least 7 to 8 hours of true sleep per night during the summer months and at least 9 to 10 hours of sleep during the winter months. Your body’s circadian rhythms are dictated by the amount of daylight it gets. I also recommend to sleep in a dark, cool room. Avoid the blaring lights from the street and any sort of night lights as these actually cause an increase in cortisol output in your system. And you don’t get a good night’s sleep (as in REM sleep).

Again, it’s a great step forward, but if you want optimal health…stick to pure water.

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