Overweight or Unpopular State?

Many people think that who you are in high school or middle school has nothing to do with who you will become in the future. In a recent study on more than 4,000 girls around the age of 15, this was proved untrue. When weighing the girls over a two year time period, it seemed that their view of their social status affected their weight gain. Those who thought they were extremely unpopular gained more weight than the girls who considered their social status as more popular. The study shows that those who are low in social self-esteem are 69 percent more likely to gain an excess of 11 or more pounds in two years. Though the girls who thought they were more popular did gain excess weight, it was a lot less- only about 6 pounds at the most. None of these girls' were out of the category considered normal weight for their ages, however, people are starting to find out new ways to prevent obesity in teens and boost their self-confidence. Who are they relying on to stop this small but important dilemma? Teachers? Principals? Nurses? Peers? Nope...parents! Parents and influential adults in their lives will impact their view on themselves and their social standings. This may not necessarily be true with all teens, but take some time to view your opinion on yourself. Look in the mirror. (Go ahead, look! I won't go anywhere!) And tell yourself how amazing you are. Because everyone is beautiful..it just depends on if we all see it. But remember, that if you don't see your inner beauty, their may be some health effects that affect your outer beauty!

article from:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/diet.fitness/01/07/diet.popularityweight.ap/index.html