I HEALTH Teen Diets: Choices & Challenges BARBARA PASH Special to The Jewish News M indy is a bit chubby — okay, a lot chubby. She could definitely lose 30 pounds and not only look better but feel better, too. Mindy is not alone. A recent study reports that many more American teenagers — girls and boys — are overweight than 20 years ago. From the early 1960s to the early 1980s, rates of obesity among girls ages 12 to 17 rose 58 percent; among boys ages 12 to 17, 18 percent, according to Dr. Steven Gortmaker, ac- ting chairman of the depart- ment of behavioral sciences at the Harvard University School of Public Health. Although Gortmaker can- not account for the difference between girls and boys, he does have an explanation for the rise in obesity. "Dietary intake doesn't show much change over time:' he says, "but we have noticed a substantial decrease in the level of activity, especially the time spent watching TV" Citing a 1983 A.C. Nielson Saying no to a trip to the pizza parlor with friends isn't easy. And that's just one of the situations teen dieters have to face. Company survey that showed children and teens averaged 25 hours per week watching television, Gortmaker con- tends, "In the 1960s, much less time was spent watching TV" The corollary to teenagers as a whole being "more obese," Gortmaker says, is that they are also "less fit." He defines fitness as bone strength and lean body mass, rather than the more common definition of performance on aerobic tests. Experts have other concerns about today's teenagers. Ac- cording to Eileen Molly of The Nutrition Center, a research center in the nutrition depart- ment of Pennsylvania State University, eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia are not only increasing among teenagers, but are being ex- perienced at a younger age. "Teenagers, especially young women, tend to be obsessed with their weight;' Molloy says. "Thenagers are so prone to suggestions, and they tend to go overboard!' After a particularly wor- risome incident, one diet pro- gram learned to be much more cautious about the teens it accepts. A teenager on the diet regimen refused to stop dieting after reaching her goal. She continued to lose weight below that which the program considered a healthy level. Diet programs for teenagers often require parental permis- sion,- and usually encourage participants to exercise more. But before Mindy, and Mit- chell, too, go on a diet, parents need to be sure it is ap- propriate for them. "There are a lot of behavior modification programs aimed at teenagers. It's important to recommend a diet that's well balanced and nutritious. Stay away from fad diets," advises Molloy. There are two schools of thought in diet programs for teenagers. In some programs, teens follow a modified diet plan but participate with the adults at the weekly weigh in/discussion sessions. In others, they have their own diet and their own sessions. Weight Watchers Inc., with several offices throughout the metropolitan area, offers classes for teens. The diet plan is different from the adult pro- gram because there are more exchanges offered. The adult woman's diet for the first week avera6s 1,000 calories per day; the youth diet, 1,400 calories with increments weekly. According to Sharon Cardec- cia, a leader at Weight Wat- chers, the members discuss such topics as dining in restaurants, school lunches and holiday menus. "We em- phasize a healthy self- concept;' 'states Cardeccia. "They (the teens) don't have to be 98 pounds, and they don't have to look like models on television;' she says. Cardec- cia stresses that Weight Wat- chers offers realistic, healthy goals. "We also try to teach the teens how to make good choices!" Cardeccia notes that discussions center on incorrect choices such as fast foods, high fatty foods and foods with high sodium content.. Then the meetings discuss the correct choices of foods such as vegetables and popcorn. Cardeccia does not have figures on the ratio of teens to adults in Weight Watchers, but has noticed that more girls than boys participate. THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 13-F