What should high school children do if they are prone to gaining weight

High school students are prone to gaining weight, which can be improved by adjusting their diet structure, increasing physical activity, maintaining a regular schedule, reducing stress eating, and cultivating healthy habits. Factors such as metabolic changes during adolescence, academic stress, and prolonged sitting for learning may collectively lead to weight gain.

1. Adjust the diet structure

to ensure that the three meals are regular and quantitative. Eat high-quality protein such as egg soybean milk for breakfast, lean meat and green leafy vegetables for lunch, and reduce refined carbon water for dinner. Avoid using high sugar snacks to satisfy hunger and choose sugar free yogurt or nuts as snacks during breaks. When dining in the cafeteria, priority should be given to steamed and stewed dishes, and fried foods should not be consumed more than twice a week. Drink plenty of water daily and replace sugary drinks with lemon water or light tea.

2. Increase physical activity

Use ten minute jumps or squats during breaks, and participate in team sports such as basketball and badminton after school. On weekends, you can engage in aerobic exercise for more than 40 minutes, such as swimming and cycling, combined with home training such as jumping. Actively participate in physical education classes to avoid laziness, and choose to walk or ride bicycles to and from school. Parents can accompany their children for a walk in the evening and monitor their daily step count through a fitness bracelet.

3. Regular sleep schedule

Ensure at least seven hours of sleep per day and avoid staying up late to do homework, which can lead to disrupted secretion of hunger hormones. Fixed wake-up and bedtime times, with no more than two hours of fluctuations in weekend routines. Stop eating two hours before bedtime to prevent nighttime fat accumulation. Taking a nap at noon can help regulate stress hormone levels and reduce the urge to overeat.

4. Reduce stress eating

Teach children to replace emotional eating with listening to music or taking deep breaths, and prepare low calorie stress relieving snacks such as cucumber strips. Avoid placing high calorie foods such as potato chips and cookies near the desk, and parents should not excessively use food as exam rewards. Regularly communicate academic pressure with children and cultivate non food stress relieving methods such as running diaries.

5. Cultivate healthy habits

Record daily diet and weight changes without demanding, focusing on body fat percentage rather than just weight numbers. Families should practice a healthy lifestyle together and avoid preparing weight loss meals for children alone. Learn basic nutritional knowledge such as understanding food labels and rejecting extreme dieting or weight loss products. Choose loose fitting school uniforms without overly focusing on body shape, and establish a positive body image. High school students are in a critical period of growth and development, and weight loss requires a balance between nutritional supply and calorie control. Parents should provide a nutritionally balanced diet rather than simply limiting it, and encourage exercise without overemphasizing weight. Regular measurements of body fat indicators such as waist and hip circumference can be taken, focusing on physical fitness improvement rather than simply weight loss. If the weight continues to increase rapidly or accompanied by symptoms such as menstrual disorders, it is recommended to seek timely medical attention from an endocrinology department to investigate pathological factors such as polycystic ovary syndrome. Pay attention to supplementing calcium and vitamin D in daily life to meet the needs of bone development, and avoid extreme weight loss methods such as ketogenic diet that may affect cognitive function.