I found this article interesting about recent research into adolescent weight and the later implications. 

Over weight children actually take in fewer calories than their counterparts.  It’s about how much exercise that person gets too.

We often talk about being rather than doing. How we feel as well as what our behaviour is.  When weight is an issue part of the journey may be to  to look at why, how, when, where. 

Also though,  what now?

What can I DO  today that will nurture ME as a whole? 

Deborah Fields

New research has found as overweight children grow older their calorie intake becomes lower than their equivalents of a healthy weight. 

The research carried out by pediatrics at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. Although it was noted that in childhood they do consume more calories the trend is reversed around the age of 17. Although they are consuming fewer calories it does not necessarily mean that they are not consuming as much food. 

The lead author of the study, Asheley Cockrell Skinner said there is a clear explanation for this strange observation. Unless the overweight children undergo a serious diet or fitness regime then they generally stay overweight. However children of  a normal weight and then adolescents are more active and therefore burn through and require more calories. 

She said: “One reason this makes sense is because we know overweight children are less active than healthy weight kids. Additionally, this is in line with other research that obesity is not a simple matter of overweight people eating more — the body is complex in how it reacts to amount of food eaten and amount of activity.”

This research shows that for children or adolescents to reach a healthy weight they need strategies that are specific to each individual. The problem is a major concern for the NHS as they say that around one in seven children are having issues with their weight. 

Original article written by James Puckle – Tuesday 11th September 2012