A new study has found that overweight teens, including those who’ve lost weight during their 20s and 30s, are at high risk for memory loss and dementia by the time they’re middle-aged.
They conducted the study for a span of 33 years
The researchers analysed 507 people who were tracked for 33 years, starting when they were 17. The participants then completed cognitive assessment tests to gauge their cognitive skills.
According to senior author Prof. Jeremy Kark, “In this population-based study of a Jerusalem cohort, followed longitudinally from adolescence for over 33 years, we found that higher BMI in late adolescence and the long-term cumulative burden of BMI predicted poorer cognitive function later in life. Importantly, this study shows that an impact of obesity on cognitive function in midlife may already begin in adolescence, independently of changes in BMI over the adult life course.”
Lead author Irit Cohen-Manheim adds,”Our results also show that taller stature was associated with a better global cognitive function, independent of childhood and adult socioeconomic position, and that height increase in late adolescence, reflecting late growth, conferred a protective effect, but among women only.”
Keeping healthy is important for all ages
The study brings to light the importance of being healthy, even at younger ages. This is why parents who wish for their children to not have cognitive problems during middle age should make sure that their kids eat a healthy diet, and are physically active in order to avoid these problems later on in life.
Go to the next page to learn more about losing weight for teens!
Weight loss tips for teenagers
Keeping healthy and fit is always important at any age. However, for teens who are already starting to become more conscious of their appearance, losing weight is important not only for their health but also for their self-esteem.
Here are some helpful tips for parents whose teens are having a hard time losing weight:
- Tell them to skip fad diets. Fad diets are popular, and they do help people lose weight, but the problem is that most of these diets aren’t helpful when it comes to keeping the weight off. The important thing when it comes to weight loss is creating a lifestyle that helps people keep the weight off, not just lose weight for a couple of months.
- Cook healthier food for them. Eating healthy helps a lot when it comes to losing weight since the food that you eat can directly impact your health. Giving your teens lots of vegetables, lean meat, and fruits will make sure that they have a lot of energy and that they’re not eating fatty or unhealthy food.
- Encourage them to be more active. In addition to eating healthy food, being active helps a lot when it comes to losing weight. They key to weight loss is burning more calories than you take in, so make sure that your teens try their best to keep active. After-school activities such as sports are very helpful not only for losing weight, but it’s also a good way for them to make friends and just have fun.
- Teach them to focus on being healthy. Having the right mindset when it comes to weight loss really helps not just with losing weight, but also with keeping the weight off. Teach your teen to focus more on being healthy instead of just losing weight to look good. That way, they’ll be more invested in their health which would help them make better life decisions in the future.
- Be supportive. Being supportive goes further than just encouragement. You should also try and join your teen for his/her weight loss regimen. Once they see you actively joining them in their goal to become healthier and lose weight, they’ll be much more dedicated and focused.
Sources: nydailynews.com, belmarrahealth.com, livestrong.com, eurekalert.org
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