Weight loss is critical for your child’s health and happiness.

Although some adolescents who are significantly overweight are already experiencing related health issues (e.g., insulin resistance, diabetes, polycystic ovarian syndrome, orthopedic problems, gallstones), most are not. Health issues resulting from or exacerbated by excess weight typically develop later.

However, medical research shows that if 90% of overweight adolescents are bound to become obese adults, unless there is some intervention.

Weight problems can seriously compromise the health of young adults or adults. In recent years, researchers have established significant correlations between excess weight and most major disease states – not only diabetes, but also coronary heart disease, a range of pulmonary diseases, hypertension, stroke, various dermatological conditions, liver diseases, cataracts, gynecological problems, as well as the following cancers: breast, prostate, colon, kidney, esophagus, uterus, cervix and pancreas.

Overweight children and adolescents often become very unhappy about their weight. They feel like they don’t fit in; they are teased or excluded; they often have low self-esteem and even develop clinically significant levels of depression.

Although many overweight youngsters will retreat to more solitary pursuits, others may compensate by excelling in some area that provides refuge from criticism (e.g., academics, drama, running with the wrong crowd). In virtually all cases, however, the unhappiness caused by excess weight negatively impacts energy level, mood and outlook. This unhappiness can also trigger or contribute to a range of negative behaviors.

Researchers have established that overweight adolescents are less likely to graduate from high school and one study showed that the future outlook of overweight teens, compared with other teens with a range of medical conditions, was bleakest – alongside terminal cancer patients. We also know that overweight young adults are less likely to enter college, less likely to graduate from college, less likely to get married, and more likely to occupy a lower socioeconomic group.