Are You Overweight?

27 Are You Overweight? I'man overweight teenager. I'm only fifteen years old, and already I weigh over 90 kilograms. I was a normal weight five years ago, but my weight just kept increasing-faster than I expected. Being an overweight kid is not easy. When I walk down the street, some people make fun of me. At school, I try to avoid sports activities. Why? Because I'm not good at sports, as you can probably guess. I'm not the only one with a weight problem at my school. Recently, our school started a program called “ Healthy Kids" . Our teacher invited a doctor to give a talk. " Do you know that more than one billion adults world- wide are overweight?" asked the doctor. “ Three hundred million of them are obese, which means extremely over- weight. Adult obesity is linked to being overweight as a youngster, " he continued.

" Obesity is found in every region of the globe. It's estimated that seven percent of the world's population is suffering from obesity. The rate of obesity in children is growing at an alarming rate. Obesity can lead to some of the world's most dangerous diseases-cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke. " " Are we bound to be miserable?" asked my friend, Pam. " The good news is that we know the two main causes of obesity -poor diet and lack of regular exercise. Luckily, we have control over both of these. It's never too late to make changes in your eating and exercise habits. A little action now can make a big difference in your health in the future. Isn't that simple?" Encouraged by the message, I asked the doctor questions about how to set a realistic goal. “ Exercise is one of the keys. It has been proven that only fifteen minutes of exercise a day can go a long way towards reducing weight. Eat a balanced diet and avoid soft drinks because they're loaded with sugar. You can take control of your own weight if you really want to. " That day, I decided to become physically active and maintain a healthy, balanced diet.