An adolescent is an interesting category of the population because they are biologically growing and are still considered minors legally. Obesity is a health concern that had become an epidemic in America, and it cannot be overlooked. The most unfortunate indicator in examining adolescent obesity is that obese teenagers are 70% prone to becoming obese adults. Childhood obesity rates have also exploded in England and Wales, sending thousands children to hospitals for problems such as asthma, diabetes and sleep apnea. Admissions rocketed to 3,806 youngsters in 2009 from 872 in 2000, a study by Imperial College in London has discovered, with teenage girls accounting for the biggest increase.
In this age of video games, ipods, computer surfing, and any of the abundant media available to teens, it’s no wonder that teen obesity is on the rise.
Main Causes of Teen Obesity
Most experts point out that an increasingly sedentary lifestyle, coupled with poor nutrition choices, is contributing to the growing number of teens considered overweight or obese. Some factors that contribute to teens’ unhealthy weight gain include:
- Increased intake of “junk” food
- Drinking sugary drinks, especially soda.
- Lack of physical activity (including many schools’ decisions to cut P.E.)
- Temptation of indoor sedentary activities including television, video games and computer use
- Genetic factors
Exercise Input
No matter what sport teenagers do, whether it be track and field, soccer, baseball, football, you name it, they all require coordination, endurance, speed, and strength.
A teen interested in getting into better shape, can adopt any one of the following program. Before beginning this program, learn the movements and develop coordination to prevent injury. Don’t forget to check with your doctor before doing anything!
- Series of Compound Exercises: Compound exercises (such as squats, lunges, push-ups and deadlifts) are the best way to increase functional strength. Being creative with your workouts can build functionality while making your routines more fun.
- HIIT Cardio: High Intensity Interval Training is a great way to stave off excessive fat gains as you put on muscle. Plus, it is necessary for most athletes to keep their cardiovascular endurance up, even while trying to put on mass. Researchers at the Centre of Exercise in Medicine at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim have found that just three short high-intensity sessions a week can make a substantial differences in the fitness.
- Mostly Standing, Free-Weight Exercises: unlike machines, free-weight exercises force the lifter to balance and control the weight, just like in real life.
- Rest: One requires plenty of time for rest, which is essential, especially for the beginning lifter and growing teens.
Workout
- Walking or playing a sport, is going to be your cardio and lower body workout. Playing sports is a very important part of a teen workout because the running and jumping is going to be your leg workout, in the weight workout we are not going to focus on legs. So, find a sport that you enjoy and do it every day! If you are over 180lbs, its best to start with a low impact form of exercise like walking, biking or swimming until you have reduced your weight. By the way, this is what people call cardiovascular exercise, or cardio for short.
- For your upper body workout which you will do 2-3 times a week. There are seven exercises to workout pecs, lats, triceps, biceps and abs. I have carefully chosen the exercises so that they provide a challenging, killer workout with maximum safety. 95% of weight room injuries come from either using too large a range of motion or using bad form. All the exercises recommended are self-spotting which means that they safely limit range of motion and prevent bad form.
| Body part | Exercise | Number Sets | Number Rep | Tempo |
| Chest | Push-up | 3 | 8-15 | 2s up 2s dn |
| Chest | Dumbbell flys | 3 | 8-15 | 2s up 2s dn |
| Chest | Dumbbell press | 3 | 8-15 | 2s up 2s dn |
| Lats | Pull-ups | 3 | 8-15 | 2s up 2s dn |
| Lats | Dumbbell rows | 3 | 8-15 | 2s up 2s dn |
| Abs | Crunches | 3 | 8-15 | 1s up 1s dn |
| Biceps | Sofa curls | 3 | 8-15 | 2s up 2s dn |
| Triceps | Db French press | 3 | 8-15 | 2s up 2s dn |
There are seven exercises you should do to work your pecs, lats, triceps, biceps and abs. Perform all these exercises in the order shown, then repeat the whole thing two more times so that you end up doing three sets of every exercise.
Teenagers need to be made aware about the significance of healthy eating and exercise, for present times and future.