Recent worldwide studies show that Generation Y is the unhealthiest generation yet, with 20% of teenagers classed as overweight or obese, and 5% of teens diagnosed with anorexia, writes Amelia Currier, of Logan Park High School.
These statistics show that a considerable proportion of teenagers have unhealthy and unstable diets.
Anorexia has mainly affected females aged 15 - 19 years, and the drive for it comes from the media, and fashion industry.
With the likes of Victoria Beckham being as skinny as a stick, or Jessica Simpson being a healthy weight and being called fat, how do you expect us not to be unhealthy?
With role models like these, how can you blame us for being the way we are?
This is the world that we are taught to accept, but if raising awareness can help one person avoid this problem, than it's one step closer to the end.
Stopping this radical disease is not in the hands of one person, it's a worldwide issue that can only be resolved with time.
Obesity and anorexia are topics we hear about every day.
Whether it's someone calling another person fat, or going to a counsellor because of an eating disorder. One way or another it pops in and out of conversation a lot.
Obesity is the most common disease in New Zealand and affects just over 20% of children aged 6 to 18 years.
Popular fast food establishments, lack of exercise and too much time on the couch watching TV are seen as causes of this fast paced disease.
Teenage obesity has increased dramatically over the past several years; teens have more than a 50% chance of becoming obese and approximately one in five teenagers in New Zealand are overweight.
From an early age we should be taught about the importance of a healthy and an active lifestyle, but instead, we are rewarded with unhealthy treats.
Being obese doesn't just affect your appearance; it affects your body health and increases the risk of serious health conditions like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol; all illnesses that were once considered as ‘adult diseases'.
Morgan Spurlock, director of the movie "Super Size Me", states that, "400,000 deaths occur from obesity per year." Much of what we eat is quick and easy, from fast food to microwave and pre-packaged meals.
Daily schedules are so packed nowadays that there's little time to prepare a healthy meal, which leaves kids and teenagers accepting whatever meal is put on the table.
Anorexia and obesity are both common and deadly diseases that are affecting many teenagers in New Zealand.
These are illnesses that as an individual we can prevent for ourselves but as a society cannot avoid.
Raising awareness is just one of the small things we can do to support individuals, however this doesn't necessarily mean that there will be a change in society.
- Amelia Currier is a year 13 student at Logan Park High School
