Teenage weight loss is something that is becoming more and more important to families as it's now estimated that there are around twelve and a half million overweight teenagers in the United States alone.

An overweight teenager is not only putting his or her long term health at risk from things such as diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure, they also risk social isolation, teasing and even depression.

It's important to understand that as with adults there is no magic bullet or quick fix solution to the problem. Teen weight loss requires the same approach as any other weight loss i.e. expend more energy than is taken in. And with supportive parents it can be easy for an overweight teen to gain control of their weight relatively quickly.

One thing that's essential, especially for girls, is for them to understand that there's no such thing as the perfect body. With TV and advertising constantly pushing size zero in their face they can often begin to believe that's the norm so helping them to understand the truth is a great way to help get rid of any unrealistic expectations.

Setting good examples of healthy eating is another way of being supportive for a teenager who wants to lose weight. After all if parents are stuffing super-sized junk food into themselves what message does that send out? And of course by including the whole family in a change to healthy eating habits everyone's health benefits.

Some simple changes can help to make a big difference over time. Here are just a few ways for an overweight teen to get started:

Take healthy snacks to school such as cherry tomatoes, sliced carrots or grapes. These are much better than grabbing a bag of chips from the school vending machine.

Drink water instead of cans of soda. A 12oz. can of soda often has around 10 teaspoons of sugar in it and over a hundred calories.

Get moving. Teens need around a hour a day of exercise but the good news is that it doesn't have to be all in one go. Two or three quick sessions a day will all add up. And it can be in different ways e.g. swimming, cycling or dance.

Any, or preferably all, of these things can soon start to make inroads into that excess weight and lead to a healthy lifestyle. They also are much better than stupid starvation style diets that don't work and can cause teenagers to miss out on the essential nutrients that they need for healthy growth.