Is dieting ok for teens?

Am I Fat? Maybe I should go on a diet. So many young teens are asking these questions everyday about their bodies. You may know some adults and teens who worry about their weight and say they're going on a diet. You might wonder if you should be on a diet, too. But the majority of teens do not need to - and should not - diet this way. Why? Let's find out.

All foods and many drinks contains calories, a kind of energy. When someone diets to lose weight, the person is trying to eat fewer calories than the body uses. By doing this, the person may lose body fat and decrease his or her weight. Likewise, if a person eats more calories than the body uses, the person may gain weight.

Teens usually do not need to diet in this way. Unlike adults, teens are still growing and developing. During this time, teens need a variety of healthy foods to keep their bodies growing properly. Some teens are overweight, but even overweight kids often can improve their health simply by eating nutritious foods and being more active. Being overweight can cause health problems, but teens may hurt their health even more by doing something drastic, like skipping meals or deciding to eat only lettuce.

Though some people may feel they weigh too much or too little, there is no perfect body shape. Some people have larger frames, caused by having bigger bones, and will always look bigger and heavier than people with smaller frames.

A great thing to do is go to a doctor so they can examine you and check your body mass index, or BMI. That's a way of estimating how much body fat you have.

Diets that don't include a variety of nutritious foods, or have too few calories, can be dangerous for teenagers. Some type of dangerous diets are called "fad diets," because a fad means something that's popular for a short while. Fad diets usually promise quick weight loss and require the person to follow a strict set of guidelines.

Some dangerous diets cut out entire categories of foods or require the person to eat just one thing, such as cabbage soup - yuck! The truth is there is no quick fix when it comes to weight loss. So pills, special drinks, all-liquid diets, and other gimmicks are poor choices, especially for young teens. If someone offers you a diet pill or suggests you start having a magic milkshake that can make you thinner, tell them no! These diets can make people sick. They also usually end with the person regaining any weight that was lost.

Someone who is willing to take extreme steps to be thinner could have an eating disorder. These include anorexia nervosa (starving one's self) or bulimia nervosa (eating and then deliberately throwing up). They are serious conditions that need a doctor's attention.

So if teens don't need to diet, how can they stay a healthy weight? All teens can benefit from eating a balanced diet and getting plenty of physical activity. Teens have a lot of choices when it comes to activity and exercise. Some like to play on sports teams or dance in troupes. Others may prefer to be more casual, riding their bikes or shooting hoops at the park. Just helping your parents rake leaves or clean the house is a kind of physical activity, though not as much fun as something like swimming! And it's a good idea to cut down on pastimes that aren't very active - such as watching TV or playing computer games.

Teenagers can also try to eat a variety of healthy foods. A balanced diet means that you don't eat the same thing every day and that you eat a mix of foods from different food groups. This kind of diet helps your body by giving it the right nutrients. For instance, protein helps build your muscles and other body structures. Calcium helps your growing bones. And you need vitamins and other nutrients to keep your body working as it should. Fiber prevents constipation and carbohydrates give you energy, just to name a few.

Your teenage years are probably going to be the best part of your life. Have fun during this time before you head off to college and start your career. Don't stress over little things, such as losing weight and dieting for the perfect body.