U.S. teens are more overweight than youth in other countries.

According to a new study reported in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, teenagers in the United States are more likely to be overweight than teens in 14 other countries. Dr. Mark Fishbein, pediatric gastrointologist at SIU School of Medicine in Springfield, says our population in general is becoming more sedentary and food availability is very high. He explains the some of the problems:

SOUND BITE: " . . .there are direct medical complications related to obesity and there is a tremendous economic burden that is put on society because of obesity. The major medical complications ah include sleep apnea, ah orthopaedic problems from weight bearing, and another issue called insulin resistance and diabetes."

Dr. Fishbein says insulin resistance syndrome also includes hypertension and heart disease. Being overweight in the teen years is a greater health concern than being overweight as a child. He says children may grow to become a normal-weight adult as part of their development, but a teenager's obesity is likely to continue into adulthood. Dr. Fishbein says there are no quick fixes to solve a teenager's weight problem.

SOUND BITE: ". . . the expectations when they come to see us is that we're going to be able to provide some kind of medication, we're going to be able to provide surgery. There are no indications at this point for bariatric surgery in the pediatric population. … there are really no approved medications for children or anything that really proved efficacious. "

Dr. Fishbein says that although there are some medications that could be tried, they have side effects. He recommends teens work to change their lifestyles, which includes eating a variety of healthy foods, eating slowly and engaging in daily physical activity. Usually, the entire family can benefit from these lifestyle changes.