Teen Obesity May Cause Early Menstruation

Teens in the United States are by far the heaviest per captia in the entire world. There are hundreds of morbidly obese teens who can barely walk. What is the cause of teen obesity? There are many factors but one reason is due to poor parenting. When a young child is growing up, the learn habits and most likely will keep these habits as the grow to teens and eventually adults. Some parents are morbidly obese themselves which makes it hard for them to teach their kids how to eat properly.

According to recent studies, researchers have found that young teen girls who are obese will most likely start their periods earlier than thin girls. The Danish researchers were the first ones to connect the link between normal girls and obese teen girls. Other studies from Ohio State University confirm these studies and also add the obese young women are more likely to have more serious problems later on in life such as breast cancer. A large percent of young children and teens who are obese will most likely become obese as adults. This is attributed to years of habitual weight gain and poor eating habits and lack of physical exercise.

Another claim is the fact that girls who start menstruating earlier are more likely to get sexually involved with other teen boys. Obviously, teens who are sexually involved at and earlier age are usually more carefree and less experienced. This can lead to teenage pregnancy and also makes it easier for teens to spread sexually transmitted diseases. Teens need to be better educated in school about the dangers of unprotected sex. Not only should we teach them about STD's but also about abstinence.

The fact is, we as parents are the ones responsible, in most cases, when our children become obese. We need to teach and lead by example when it comes to diet and nutrition. If you aren't sure what to do, talk to a local dietician and food expert about how to prepare healthy foods for our kids. If you have an obese teen girl and she has started to menstruate earlier, help and teach her about how to take care of herself. Some teen girls are afraid to talk about it due to embarrassment.