The Lancet warns that nearly 500 million children are at risk of obesity, and experts point out the three major misconceptions in adolescent weight management. Recently, the Lancet Youth Health and Welfare Committee released a report stating that by 2030, nearly 500 million adolescents (aged 10-24) worldwide will face obesity and overweight, and 1 billion people will face adverse health risks. Adolescent obesity may not only bring short-term health problems such as body shape changes and psychological disorders; In the long run, it will also increase the risk of metabolic syndrome, diabetes, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, cancer and other diseases in adulthood, and affect the health of the next generation through intergenerational transmission. Faced with the issue of adolescent obesity, there are some stereotypes that are not scientifically sound. In the current increasingly severe problem of adolescent obesity, correcting these misconceptions is crucial for helping adolescents manage their weight scientifically. Misconception 1: If a child gains weight, it means they are too lazy and don't exercise too much. ”Many people hold this idea in their daily lives. It cannot be denied that insufficient exercise is indeed one of the important factors leading to adolescent obesity, but this factor cannot be overemphasized. ”Zhang Mingying, Deputy Director and Deputy Chief Physician of the Endocrinology Department at Tianjin Children's Hospital, said, "Adolescent obesity is the result of multiple factors working together. Simply blaming 'laziness' is not only unscientific, but may also delay intervention opportunities." Scientific research shows that genetic factors play an important role in adolescent obesity, accounting for about 33% of the impact weight. According to the Expert Consensus on the Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment of Simple Obesity in Children in China, when both parents are obese, the probability of a child being obese is 15 times higher than when both parents are not obese; If one parent is obese, the risk of obesity for the child will increase by 2-3 times. At present, the medical community has identified over 600 genes associated with obesity, which play a role in multiple physiological processes such as fat metabolism, energy expenditure, and appetite regulation. More noteworthy is that the influence of family environment on adolescent obesity accounts for up to 67%. Zhang Mingying presented a typical case: parents complain that their children don't like to exercise while lying on the sofa all day playing with their phones, and often give their children fried chicken with carbonated drinks for dinner. This results in a 10-year-old child sitting for more than 5 hours a day and being severely overweight. In addition, psychological factors cannot be ignored. Obese teenagers are easily ridiculed in school, and this sustained psychological pressure may lead them to relieve negative emotions through overeating, thereby forming a vicious cycle of "stress overeating gaining weight". This phenomenon reminds us that maintaining mental health is equally important when solving the problem of adolescent obesity, "said Zhang Mingying. There are also some diseases that can lead to adolescent obesity, such as hypothyroidism, Cushing's syndrome, and small obesity syndrome. Obesity caused by these diseases is usually accompanied by other characteristic clinical manifestations, which require specialized doctors to make differential diagnosis. For adolescents suspected of pathological obesity, it is recommended to seek medical attention from the endocrinology, genetics, and metabolomics department as soon as possible, "Zhang Mingying suggested. She emphasized the need to scientifically understand the complexity of adolescent obesity and avoid simply attributing it to "lack of physical activity". Only by comprehensively considering multiple factors such as genetics, environment, and psychology can effective intervention plans be developed to help adolescents establish healthy lifestyles and restore normal weight. Misconception 2: Children who are overweight don't need to worry, they will lose weight as they grow up. Concepts such as "It's okay for children to be overweight when they are young, they will naturally lose weight as they grow up" and "Being overweight is a blessing, you don't need to worry" are commonly found in many families. However, this kind of cognition not only lacks scientific basis, but also hinders the healthy growth of adolescents. Scientific research shows that childhood obesity often continues into adulthood. According to the data on "Accelerated BMI and Risk of Persistent Obesity in Early Childhood", 80% of children who are obese at the age of 2 will still be obese in adulthood; The proportion of obese children at the age of 5 is as high as 90%. This is because during infancy and adolescence, the number of fat cells in the human body increases, but in adulthood, the number of fat cells no longer increases, only their volume increases. The larger the number of early formed fat cells, the higher the risk of obesity in the future. Zhang Mingying pointed out that adolescent obesity can bring various health hazards. In terms of metabolic system, obese adolescents have a significantly increased risk of developing fatty liver. In recent years, due to the increase of obese adolescents, the incidence rate of fatty liver among adolescents has shown an explosive growth. This disease, which was originally seen in adults, is rapidly spreading among adolescents. Fatty liver can affect the normal metabolism and detoxification function of the liver, and long-term development may lead to serious consequences such as liver failure, greatly increasing the risk of metabolic diseases. According to the statistics of China Children Obesity Report, obese children are four times more likely to suffer from type 2 diabetes than normal children. The pathogenesis is that inflammatory factors secreted by adipocytes interfere with insulin function, leading to insulin resistance and elevated blood sugar. The incidence rate of chronic diseases such as hypertension and hyperlipidemia also increased significantly. The incidence of hypertension in obese and overweight children was 2.6 times and 8 times higher than that in normal weight children, respectively. These diseases can cause sustained damage to children's cardiovascular system. Zhang Mingying emphasized that if parents let their children's childhood obesity problems go unchecked, not only will the children not naturally lose weight, but they will also go further and further away from health. For example, in terms of growth and development, obese adolescents may appear taller than their peers at some stage, but they often have advanced bone age. Zhang Mingying explained: "Fat cells in the body secrete hormones, which can cause children's bone age to be older than their actual age, leading to an earlier bone age. As the epiphyseal plates close earlier, it can ultimately affect the adult height of adolescents." Misconception 3: "Eating less can make you thin." Faced with the increasing weight of children, many parents have the misconception that "weight is because they eat more, and eating less can make them lose weight. Regarding this, Dr. Bian Shanshan from the Department of Nutrition at the Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University pointed out that this simple and crude dieting method not only fails to achieve healthy weight loss, but also poses multiple hazards to adolescents who are in a critical period of growth and development. Adolescence is the golden period of physical development, with a strong demand for nutrients such as protein, vitamins, and minerals. Bian Shanshan emphasized that blindly reducing food intake can lead to insufficient intake of important nutrients, which not only affects adolescent height growth and reduces physical immunity, but may also lead to delayed intellectual development. Children's preference for high calorie, low nutrient processed foods is an important cause of obesity. ”Bian Shanshan introduced that white rice, white bread, cakes, candies and other foods have a sweet taste, but excessive processing leads to the loss of dietary fiber, resulting in a single nutrient and high calorie content. After entering the human body, this type of food has a fast digestion and absorption rate, which can easily cause blood sugar to rise rapidly and excess sugar to be converted into fat for storage. On the contrary, fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber, which can provide comprehensive nutrition and reduce the intake of high calorie foods by increasing satiety. Therefore, increasing the intake of fruits and vegetables in a balanced diet is more conducive to weight control. However, Zhang Mingying also pointed out that it is not recommended to replace fruit intake with fruit juice extraction. "Extracting fruit juice will cause children to consume excessive fructose, leading to insufficient fiber intake. Zhang Mingying suggests that parents should cultivate the habit of young people directly consuming moderate amounts of fresh fruits, which not only ensures nutritional intake but also benefits weight control. In addition, some parents are caught in a contradiction between encouraging their children to "eat less" and fearing that their children may be "malnourished", attempting to replace dietary intake with nutrient supplements, which also poses health risks. Bian Shanshan gave an example that excessive intake of vitamin A can cause poisoning, resulting in symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and blurred vision; Long term high-dose calcium supplementation may increase the risk of kidney stones. The absorption and utilization of nutrients by the human body is a complex physiological process, and a balanced diet is always the safest and most effective way to obtain nutrients. Even if additional supplementation is required due to special circumstances, it must be done under the professional guidance of a doctor or nutritionist to avoid damage to the body caused by blind supplementation. Bian Shanshan emphasized that weight management for teenagers should follow the laws of growth and development. Parents should abandon the misconception that "eating less equals losing weight" and allow their children to achieve scientific weight loss through adjusting their diet structure, maintaining a balanced diet, and developing healthy eating habits. Only in this way can they control their weight while ensuring their normal growth and healthy development. (New Society)