1 out of 3 children are overweight and many children are affected by childhood obesity. This obesity can cause serious diseases the children including diabetes, asthma, and heart diseases etc. People mocked at the obese children and they themselves feel depressed about their obesity problem.
On April, 25, 2011 Brenda Goodman conducted a study in which he tried to find whether overweight teens are engaged in risky behaviors like Smoking and Sex activities.
The study revealed that the overweight teens may engage in risky activities just like the healthy people but in more dangerous way.
The research looked at the risk of Sex, Alcohol, illegal drugs and Suicide in the teens. The 9,000 high school students participated in the research. This research was funded by the Government.
The research studied the heaviest High School children, their weight, height and Body Mass Index BMI, starting from 220 Pounds for a 15 year old of average height.
A researcher Meg. H. Zeller, PhD, Staff Psychologist at children’s hospital in Ohio says that we studied a set of teens that were at health risk but we could not specifically identify their behaviors or activities.
Zeller and her group found that obese teen are involved in experimenting things like Cigarettes, Sex or drugs than their normal weight-fellows.
Risk of Smoking in was more common in obese teens. Extremely obese girls are as likely to be current Smokers as slimmer students.
Obese boys are 50% more likely to started Smoking before the age of 13 as compare to their normal- weight fellows.
Obese girls were half as likely as their slimmer fellows to have Sex and mostly they do it under the influence of Alcohol or Drugs.
The researcher calls it a dangerous situation for anyone to have Sex.
The studies show that most of time the sex does not go as planned and the chance of Sex increases in the involvement of Drugs and Alcohol.
Zeller further says that obese children require close attention because of being overweight.
Tilda Farhat, MD, MPH, a Post Doctoral fellow at National Institute of Child Health and development in Bethesda says that more research is required on this issue.
She further says that more research is required to better understand the Pros and Cons of being obese and engage in the risky behaviors.
Farhat says that there are researches showing obese people are facing social problem like isolation. Isolation can lead to Stress. The obese fellows then go for the use of Drugs, Alcohols and other substances to reduce their Stress. So, we know some factors but we should try to find out and report more factors about how isolation or Stress leads to risky behaviors.
