The Complexity of Adolescent Obesity PDF

INTRODUCTION

Obesity has become an epidemic, a fact frequently discussed in the media, with many references to both childhood obesity and adult. These discussions overlook an important demographic: the adolescent who is obese or overweight. The road from childhood obesity into adolescent obesity and from there into adult obesity is now a well-travelled path for individuals around the world. To omit adolescent obesity from our discussions is to miss many of the vital factors that contribute to the obesity epidemic.

The road that leads through adolescent obesity is littered with the signposts of causation: increased consumption of high carbohydrate snacks; eating too much, too fast, and too frequently; eating high-fat, cheap, convenient, and readily assessable foods; increased sedentary activities, such as TV watching and video games, accompanied by decreased physical activity; parents' and schools' lack of nutrition vigilance; and the commercial incentives to sell calorie-dense foods aggressively and relentlessly. Understanding these "obesogenic" signposts is the fi rst step toward helping health-care professionals redirect overweight and obese adolescent youth down a different road toward a goal of a stable weight

The research contained in this compendium offers a much-needed perspective on one of the most dangerous health crises our world faces today. The authors' investigations offer critical insights into the forces and factors that result in the numerous metabolic and psychological consequences of adolescent obesity.