- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- preteenagers today articles
- preteenagers today q&a
- teenagers today articles
- teenagers today q&a
- community & groups
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
From Our Sponsors
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Fit or Fat?
Self-esteem and "Big" Preteens
By Kelly Burgess
Woodward-Lopez says that the preteen years are particularly hard on overweight children for a couple of reasons. The first is a matter of perception. As children, they observe prejudice, but don't necessarily internalize it. As they begin to go through early puberty, they become much more self-conscious and critical – both of themselves and of others.
The second is a matter of physiology. Children often get plump right before puberty and then get thinner as they grow taller. However, the positive effects don't last long – and it happens a bit earlier for girls. With girls, growth speeds up just before menarche (first menstruation) and then slows down until total growth is complete about four years after menarche. In America, the average age of menarche is 12 1/2, and it's not unusual for girls as young as 10 to begin menstruating. As a result, they stop significant upward growth rather early on.
For boys this process happens a little later, which explains why middle school girls are often so much more mature looking than their male peers. Regardless of gender, by the time our children reach high school, their bodies are dealing with weight issues as adult bodies.
Complicating the issue is that girls typically become less active as they get older. Beginning in middle school, it is estimated that girls decrease their physical activity by 7 percent per year. This is at the same time that their diets tend to be filled with more junk food and their growth has slowed.