Declining physical activities in teenage girls is to be blamed as the cause of rising problem of obesity among them.
Girls who remain inactive during their adolescence tend to gain more weight that their peers who participate in some form of physical activity during their teens. In a ten year observational study conducted by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, reports that the rapid decline in the physical activities by the girls of this age group is directly linked with the gain in their weights as measured with the help of body mass index and measurements of increased fatness.The research shows that at the age of 9 to 10 years, the weight difference between the physically active and inactive girls are hardly a kilo or two. However, in the next nine years following that age, the difference becomes more than 5 to 8 kilos between the active and the inactive groups.
Researchers had taken into account the BMI derived from height and weight, measurements to evaluate body fat through skin fold, records of physical activity and diet of the participants of the study. However, the researchers have also reported a growing tendency among the teenagers to underreport their diets and food intake to the investigators.
Reference: The Lancet, July 2005
