Nutrition

These stories are about the feelings teenagers have related to their body weight.

Case #1

Feeling fat and ugly

Jackie felt so fat and ugly. She worried that she would never find a boy who would like her. She looked around and saw perfect beautiful girls everywhere. All the magazines featured models that were tall and skinny. All the actresses were gorgeous and flawless. She had heard photographers used a process called air brushing to make the subjects look perfect, but she was sure that most of the pictures were real, not enhanced.

Jackie felt that she would have to find some way to improve her appearance. Her mother told her she is perfect the way she is, but Jackie believed that her mother was just saying that to be nice to her.

She read that cosmetic surgery is done all the time in Hollywood. But, she knew that surgery was expensive and out of the question. She decided to try to lose about 20 pounds. She tried eating less but that was too hard. Her mother got upset with her when she wouldn′t eat. Then, she heard from a friend that if you throw up after you eat, it would help you lose weight. She wondered if this was the answer.

Case #2

Max′s Battle with Weight

Max is overweight. He weighs 250 lbs. and is only 14 years old. He knows that he should lose weight but doesn′t know how to do it. He likes to eat whatever and whenever he wants and can′t see why he should change his ways. He also despises exercise.

He has never had a girlfriend. He feels that girls just look at him in disgust, and he hates that. He knows that he is a nice guy who would be a good boyfriend. But girls won′t give him a second look.

His mom wants to send him to the family doctor to see if a doctor might help him. He is certain there is no way he will ever be smaller. He is afraid he is going to be this way for the rest of his life. He just wants to find someone who will love him the way he is now.