Culture Post: Parents Getting Teens to Diet Doing More Harm Than Good

*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on CBS New York.

Parents who try to help their overweight teenager lose weight may also be doing more harm than good.

A new study finds that parents putting their children on a diet could lead to struggles with their weight as adults. The study, in the journal Pediatrics, of more than 500 teens who had been encouraged to diet, found that approach led to problems with food later.

“They followed teenagers who had been encouraged to diet, 15 years later and found that they were more likely to be overweight, to be dieting, binge-eating, and have lower body satisfaction,” Dr. Susan Albers from the Cleveland Clinic said.

Those teens were later also more likely to encourage their own children to diet. According to Dr. Albers, dieting among teens can encourage a negative relationship with food. She says it’s more beneficial to practice mindful eating – where the focus is on how you eat, rather than what you eat.

“It’s so important to give teens these skills at this juncture in their life and I talk to parents about tools, not rules,” Dr. Albers added.

Source: CBS New York
https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2018/07/16/health-watch-teen-dieting-study/

Find more culture news on HomeWord’s Culture Blog, named in 2016 and 2017 as one of the top 50 culture blogs on the planet!

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Jim Liebelt

Jim is Senior Writer, Editor and Researcher for HomeWord. Jim has 40 years of experience as a youth and family ministry specialist, having served over the years as a pastor, author, editor, consultant, mentor, trainer, college instructor, and speaker. Jim’s HomeWord Culture Blog also appears on Crosswalk.com. Jim and his wife Jenny live in Quincy, MA.

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