teens

Time magazine recently published an article, reviewing research discussed in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition on how the eating habits of teens and tweens are influenced by how much their friends weigh. Observing the participants in this study, the researchers found that the children ate more when they were with a friend than when they were with a peer they did not know; however, they also found that children who were overweight ate up to 300 calories more when with a friend who is also overweight.

Kids have to deal with tremendous peer pressure. Unfortunately, that also applies to their eating habits. Researchers just released a study that examines how kids eat in relation to who they are around at the time. Those involved in the study were 9 to 15 years old. And, researchers found that all of the kids, regardless of their weight, tended to eat more when they snacked with a friend than when they were with someone their age that they did not know.

But, the peer mimicking went further. Interestingly, the largest calorie intake was seen when overweight children snacked with an overweight friend.

Your teen or tween may not have the perspective yet to recognize what they need to do or not to to get healthy and/or avoid falling into unhealthy habits. As a caring, involved parent, you want to provide guidance, but you don’t know what to say or how to get him or her to listen. Your child is probably listening to you less and less as he or she is turning more to the guidance of peers. Luckily, modeling has been shown to be a very powerful way of shaping your child’s behavior. They will do what you do more than they will do what you say.

Recently the question has been posed to me in various variations of ‘how do we reach the teens’? As a therapist and working closely with INShape Indiana on health promotions, I understand that you cannot work harder for someone than they work for themselves, or you cannot care about their growth more than they do. Doing so would be a fast track to burnout and poor client relationships, which helps no one. I have taken to regularly texting and chatting with a few of my teen cousins to try to make sure I understand their culture and what is motivating to them. (We didn’t have texting when I was a teen!) If we find it difficult to motivate real life change in adults who generally have a wider perspective on the real costs and benefits, how do we reach teenagers and help them develop healthy habits early?

High school vending machines. (via MSNBC)

Washington is going on the offensive. No, this isn’t another bailout. U.S. Senators want to give candy in vending machines the boot from schools. And I say, it’s about time. Leave it to mom and dad to pack a Snickers if they want to.

A bill was just introduced that would require schools in the U.S. to provide healthier options in order to fight the childhood obesity epidemic.

Senators Tom Harkin and Lisa Murkowski said their bill would allow the U.S. Agriculture Department to establish “common-sense nutrition standards” for food and beverages sold in school vending machines.