Obesity in Teenagers

Obesity in teenagers is a very common and widespread issue around the whole world. Obesity,
other than health issues, also has many negative effects on a teenager’s social and emotional well
being. Genetic factors, lack of exercise and unhealthy eating patterns are the most common
causes of obesity. There are many effects of obesity, both long term and short term effects.

The rate of obesity in the world is increasing significantly. An article from pam.org states that the
rate of obesity in teenagers quadrupled in the past 30 years and went from 5% to 21%. Nearly
one third of the entire teenage population is overweight or obese. This article shows that the
problem of obesity is increasing by the day.

Obesity can be caused due to many factors. Genetics plays a very big role in this case. A
research by an obesity and genetics website states that 43% of all the obesity in teenagers is
caused by genetics. Other than genetics, the lack of exercise and an unhealthy diet are very
common causes of obesity amongst teenagers.

‘Eating too much and moving too little’ is a good way nhs.uk explains how lack of exercise causes
obesity, the calories aren’t burnt and so the excess food which isn’t burnt will be stored as fat.
However, there are many reasons obese people don’t like to or cannot exercise. A reason they
don’t want to is simply the lack of motivation to exercise. Another very popular reason obese
people don’t exercise is because of the dangers of exercising to them. An article stated a few
common dangers to obese people are: cardiac problems, respiratory problems, injury to the
joints, heat exhaustion and dehydration.

Obesity happens over time and a bad diet for a long term is one of the common causes of
obesity. A poor diet consists of many things and factors. Some of these things and factors are
eating large amount of processed or fast food, high alcohol consumption, eating larger portions
than necessary, drinking sugary drinks and comfort eating (stress eating). Unhealthy eating habits
are passed on in families and continue on throughout life if nothing is done about it.

Teenage obesity can affect many aspects early on. Physical health and mental health, it can affect
both significantly. An article by NCBI stated that obesity even associates with poor academic
performance and lower quality of life. An article published by CNN states that obese students,
girls especially, tend to have lower scores than their slimmer classmates. Some reasons which are
a possibility is due to lower social skills.

Emotional problems are one of the many effects of obesity. This could simply be due to
psychological problems which include lower self-esteem, anxiety, depression and eating
disorders. All these are common problems in obese teenagers.

Some people may not realise the social effects of obesity because they aren’t on the receiving
end. However, the obese people have to face many things which could lower the image they have
of themselves. These people are victims of something called ‘fat-shaming’ and this can be
damning for them because they get feelings of shame and rejection, this is a prime example of
why obese people have low self-esteem. Teenagers with low self-esteem are often lonely, or feel
sad often and this can have very bad effects in the long term. “Teens are vulnerable because of
their development and any actual or perceived changes in their lives, including weight issues, can
potentially increase the risk of depression or suicide.” A statement by, the chief of the division for
adolescent medicine at University of Kentucky, Hatim Omar. This statement gives a fair idea of
why obese teenagers may be depressed. In the long term, if these people have a low self-esteem
and are going through depression, they may not be able to handle it any more and take the step
to end their own lives.

A news report from US Magazine in 2016 reported about a student who was bullied for her weight
and she committed suicide in front of her own family. How could being teased for being
overweight make someone take such a drastic step? She was a victim of constant cyber bullying.
Many people harassed her online by making comments such as “Why are you still here?”, “You
are fat and ugly” and they kept picking on her. These cyber bullies reached new extents when
they would put her name up on online dating websites, lie about her age and even say that she is
giving herself up for free sex. All this for so long can be mentally and emotionally draining. This is
one of the many cases where insults on obese people made them take such a drastic step.

Lastly, the long term effects of teenage obesity. Obesity’s long term effects include mostly health
related issues. Some of these many issues are diabetes, asthma, infertility and many other issues.
There is even a higher risk of death by cardiovascular diseases which they attained by obesity. A
study showed that the risk of cardiovascular issues are increased by 30-40% if one is obese in
their teenage years.

Obesity has so many effects and so many impacts on a teenager. Obese teenagers face many
things and go through a tough time. At times, it goes too far and something bad may happen. To
conclude, obese teenagers should be given more thought in order to prevent any events as stated
above and should be given more support and some motivation in life.

Vedang Rakhra