It’s hard for a busy teen to have a lot of extra time in their schedules.  Teens have a busy school day, then go home to a few hours of homework.  Most teens have at least one kind of extracurricular activity, which means one or two afternoons a week are taken up, if not every day after school!  Some kids have part-time jobs, while some kids have family obligations that take up time as well.

And as far as weekends go, if there’s any free time at all, most kids want to hang out with friends or just do nothing at all, to recuperate from a tiring week.

So with that kind of schedule, it isn’t surprising that kids nowadays have a harder time keeping fit than before.  With so little free time, there isn’t usually a chance for exercise.  And if free time is available, unfortunately there are so many electronic games and movies that keep them inside, away from being outside and getting any exercise at all.

It’s also difficult to find time for kids to eat really healthy meals.  They need to be up early enough to eat a healthy breakfast (a challenge!), and either they or their parents need to make a healthy lunch for them to take to school.  Dinner is all too often eating at a fast-food restaurant because of the time crunch.

What ends up happening is kids get overweight, and then it’s too easy for their self-esteem to plummet.  And sadly, there’s no easy and fast way to lose weight; it takes commitment and a lifestyle change.  Even if they spend time at camp that teaches them health and fitness, unfortunately commonly known as a “fat camp,” teens need to be able to commit to a healthier lifestyle to stay fit.