Studies undertaken show that nearly 70% of young teenage girls have attempted to lose weight before their 18th birthday. Is it necessary for these young girls to be dieting, and are they doing it in a way that is not detrimental to their health?

It is crucial to teach your teenage daughter how to develop a healthy lifestyle which is more than merely encouraging her to eat healthy meals. A healthy lifestyle means to develop habits that she can practice for the rest of her life.

This article addresses the issues of healthy weight loss habits, weight management and body image.

Promote Gradual Weight Loss

As a parent it is not always easy to get your child to eat healthy balanced meals, and there are circumstances where your child may need to lose a little weight. It is then your role as a responsible parent to promote safe, gradual weight loss.

Many teenage girls will put themselves onto strict crash diets. The problem with crash diets is that not only are they potentially damaging to your daughter's health, but gaining the weight back again is inevitable and unfortunately the gain is often beyond that of her original weight.

A loss of 1-2 pounds per week is recommended to achieve permanent weight loss results.

Get The Whole Family Involved

To get your teenage daughter to adopt healthy eating habits, the whole family needs to be involved. Rather than filling your kitchen with unhealthy snacks or "forbidden foods", stock your kitchen with foods that are good for you.

Offer snacks that are nourishing, satisfying, and tasty. Always prepare nutritious, well balanced meals and replace those sugary snacks and potato crisps with fresh fruit and nuts.

Teenagers who get the support from their families will achieve better weight loss results and are more likely yo maintain their weight loss, than those who don't. Additionally, children who grow up educated in healthy eating habits at home will adopt those habits for the rest of their lives.

Start The Day With A Nutritious Breakfast

There are a number of reasons why teenage girls will often skip breakfast such as; not feeling hungry, they're running late, or they believe that skipping breakfast will help them to lose weight.Missing breakfast wil in factl slow down her weight loss efforts. Eating a nutritious breakfast fuels the brain and the body, and kick-starts the metabolism to burn off additional calories right throughout the day.

Drink Plenty Of Water

One of the biggest weight gain perpetrators is high sugar drinks, energy drinks and fruit juices. Instead, try to promote water as an alternative to these high calorie beverages. Not only is water calorie free, but it flushes out harmful toxins and rejuvenates the body.

Discuss Body Issues

Many teenage girls struggle with body image issues and it is vital to discuss openly with your daughter any of the concerns that she may have with her weight and body image. Encourage her to discuss her worries, about her body image and why she thinks she needs to lose weight. For the health and safety of your daughter these issues should never be brushed aside. Your support and assistance will allow your daughter to continue to grow in happiness and good health.