- Knowledgebase: Nutrition, Exercise, and Obesity
- Questions about child nutrition, exercise, and obesity/weight loss.
- 9. My daughter is obsessed with her weight - Top
- Q: My teenage daughter is obsessed with her weight; should I be concerned?
A: Teenagers as a group are very concerned with their appearance and more so with girls. Our society has created an ideal image of good looks and thin build and this puts a great deal of pressure on teenage girls to meet thin standard. Most of the time this conflict is verbalized with little change in behavior except spurts of exercise of dieting. A parent should he concerned when their daughter or son sees themselves as overweight even when they are appropriate or thin. Weight loss continued beyond an acceptable level for their height and age should be seen as a problem. Excessive dieting or episodes of vomiting or diarrhea (which they may hide from others) and also excessive exercising should alert parents to be concerned. The other area of concern would be bouts of excessive eating t binges) and vomiting (purges).
If a parent sees any of these symptoms, they should at least speak to their child's physician about their concerns. With the average teenagers concern over weight, parents should be supportive, not make fun of weight or appearance, and encourage moderation in exercise and dieting.
- Updated: March 23, 2001
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