Dealing with being overweight
All teens struggle with learning how to handle stress. It’s tough trying to juggle school, peer pressure, relationships with parents and friends, responsibilities and the expectations of others. It can be overwhelming, but if you’re overweight, the risk of emotional trauma is much higher.
Overweight girls often suffer humiliation when they are called hurtful names, teased, bullied and excluded from games and other activities. This kind of behavior isn’t usually a one-time incident. It happens daily, weekly, monthly and for some, the torture goes on for years.
These negative experiences can build deep emotional scars that are not easily forgotten, mirroring your thoughts into negative ideas about yourself. When this happens, it creates poor self-esteem, fosters a lack of confidence and builds sadness and depression. For a few, this depression could escalate into self-destructive behaviors such as eating disorders or suicidal thoughts. If you are experiencing any of these thoughts or behaviors, please call 888-976-5611, and a Novant Health representative can provide assistance on making an appointment and guiding you to the right location and/or provider.
Like many adults, some teens become motivated to lose the excess weight, but most don’t know where to begin or how to be consistent and stay with it. This is because a diet is a temporary solution to a lifetime problem. Once you go off the diet, the weight comes back. Losing weight and keeping it off, requires a lifestyle change. You will have to exercise regularly (3-4 times per week) and eat healthy meals with moderate proportions throughout your life.