Journal of Nutritional Disorders & Therapy

Effect of Weight Gain and Behavior Changes in Adolescents

Gavin Robak^* Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Florida, United States
^*Correspondence: Gavin Robak, Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Florida, United States, Email:

Received: 02-Jun-2022, Manuscript No. JNDT-22-17278; Editor assigned: 06-Jun-2022, Pre QC No. JNDT-22-17278 (PQ); Reviewed: 21-Jun-2022, QC No. JNDT-22-17278; Revised: 28-Jun-2022, Manuscript No. JNDT-22-17278 (R); Published: 05-Jul-2022, DOI: 10.35248/2161-0509.22.12.187

Description

To improve the health of future generations, we must comprehend the connections between female teenage development, weight gain, eventual maternal obesity and unfavorable pregnancy outcomes. Adolescent excess weight gain frequently lasts into adulthood and is even worse throughout the years after childbirth. Teenage years are a "high-risk phase" for weight gain because of significant changes in body composition, insulin sensitivity, eating and activity patterns and psychological changes. An adolescent girl who gains too much weight at this crucial transitional stage is more likely to retain harmful amounts of body fat throughout her reproductive years.

Considering that adolescence is a period of developmental plasticity where lifelong habits can be formed, lifestyle changes made during this time may have a major impact on long-term health. In particular, encouraging healthy diet and exercise during adolescence may reduce adolescent risk factors for adult obesity. With three-fifths of Australian adults believed to be overweight or obese. Obesity is a serious and complicated health problem that affects the developed world as a whole. Obesity treatment can require a variety of weight-management strategies, such as behavioral, pharmaceutical and surgical procedures. It is often time consuming and expensive. A critical window of opportunity for lifestyle change to stop and regulate longer term body fat buildup exists during the adolescent years.

In particular for girls, adolescence sees a decline in physical activity and athletic participation, both inside and outside of the classroom. Numerous people experience considerable changes in their diets, which are compatible with the growth of increased dietary autonomy. The pubertal and adolescent year’s changes in body size, shape and composition can lead to body dissatisfaction and harmful eating and weight control habits such skipping meals, severely limiting carbohydrate, protein or dairy intake, using laxatives and smoking. Promoting healthy lifestyle practices like exercise and physical activity, together with appropriate eating habits, may be able to reduce the risk of obesity and enhance the health of future generations. A successful intervention strategies now may break the pattern of intergenerational weight growth, as children born to moms who have healthy weights are less likely to grow up to be overweight and suffer from chronic illnesses.

During the transition to adulthood, the teenage body goes through reproductive maturation and physical growth. Changes in body form and composition occur simultaneously with changes in hormone levels, glucose metabolism and insulin resistance at a rate that frequently baffles the people experiencing it. It can be difficult for many teenagers to adjust to their physical changes and they could feel uncomfortable.

The adolescent girl's body shape changes from that of an immature child to an adult. With normal growth and development being hampered by early and late patterns of maturation, changes in shape are highly varied. The average female typically reaches maturity 18 years to 2 years earlier than the average male and she also accumulates a higher percentage of fat and less fat free mass than men. Early maturing females can reach their peak weight and height by the age of 12 years, when they will also have reached adult levels of adiposity and lean body mass.

All adolescent girls have changes in their body composition, including variations in the amount and distribution of body fat. When oestrogen, testosterone and growth hormone levels change, combined with an increase in the number and size of adipocytes, physical changes such as fat deposition typically occur around the hips, breasts and wider pelvic structure. However, because significant changes in body composition take place during this period of transition and some teenagers have a higher risk of being overweight or obese, it can be challenging to identify what constitutes normal weight growth. Pre-pubertal obesity as well as early menarche are linked to increased risk of obesity. The adolescent years may provide an opportunity for people who lead active lifestyles and eat well to outgrow unhealthy extra pre-pubertal body fat.

Behavior modifications in adolescence

Adolescent’s physical health is affected by eating, exercise and sedentary behavior over the long term. These actions could cause an imbalance between calorie intake and energy expenditure, which would put someone at risk for being underweight or overweight. If the nutrient density of the foods ingested is inadequate, nutrient deficiencies may also manifest. In Westernized countries, areas of concern for overweight and obesity in adolescents are excessive energy consumption (combined with a greater number of food items of poor nutrient density) and low physical activity (together with a greater proportion of time being sedentary).

For those going through adolescence, as well as their families and the health care providers who are assisting them, it may be a difficult time. In terms of future illness risk and foetal health, it is also a moment when targeted interventions could have a significant influence. The crucial physiological, behavioral and psychosocial changes that take place during adolescence that may raise the risk of carrying extra weight into childbearing years and to take into account innovative strategies to help at risk people.